BARANGAY Ginebra fans chanted, “Raymond, Raymond, Raymond!” as they wanted seldom-used reserve Raymond Aguilar to enter the game with a sizeable lead late against Phoenix on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
But coach Tim Cone wouldn’t budge yet. Instead, he called a timeout and recalled his starters when Fuel Masters made a run.
Back-to-back wins for Kings
The Gin Kings made sure to finish strongly before eventually fielding Aguilar, posting a 102-92 decision for back-to-back wins to start their PBA Philippine Cup campaign.
Jamie Malonzo continued to shrug off a black eye as he put up a double-double, while Christian Standhardinger, Ralph Cu, Nards Pinto, and Maverick Ahanmisi also delivered as the Gin Kings scored their second win in three days.
Ginebra also dealt the Fuel Masters their second straight loss to stay winless.
After a tight first half, the Gin Kings broke the game wide open in the third quarter where they outscored the Fuel Masters, 32-19.
Cu marks birthday with 12 points
Cu sparked the pullaway. A day after his birthday, the rookie stretch forward was on target, knocking down three treys in the quarter and four overall for a 12-point output.
“Just defensively and our three-point shooting led by our birthday boy, we started hitting shots in transition, something we’re trying to do a little bit more, we’re trying to play more up tempo and look for shots like that. And I feel that we have the shooters,” Cone said.
Malonzo, Pinto, and Pringle added three triples each as Ginebra made 16 of its 44 attempts from beyond the arc for a 34.6-percent clip.
Malonzo finished with 17 points, 10 boards, two assists, and one block in 34 minutes, while Ahanmisi came up with another all-around performance with 11 rebounds, eight assists, seven points, against only one error in 33 minutes as he continued to fil the void left by the injured Scottie Thompson.
Jason Perkins had 14 points, three caroms, and three assists, while Javee Mocon put up 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals for the Fuel Masters, who missed Tyler Tio due to a sprained ankle he sustained in their game two days ago.
The scores:
GINEBRA 102 – Malonzo 17, Pringle 13, Pinto 12, Cu 12, Standhardinger 12, Aguilar J. 9, Ahanmisi 7, Pessumal 6, David 5, Onwubere 5, Tenorio 4, Aguilar R. 0, Gumaru 0
PHOENIX 92 – Perkins 14, Mocon 13, Manganti 11, Tuffin 10, Garcia 9, Jazul 8, Rivero 7, Soyud 6, Muyang 4, Alejandro 4, Daves 2, Verano 2, Camacho 2, Lalata 0
Quarterscores: 23-24, 47-43, 79-62, 102-92
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