STANLEY Pringle once again led from the front as Barangay Ginebra beat TNT, 85-79, on Friday night in the battle of leaders in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.
Pringle ran rings around his TNT defenders, finishing with 28 points and 12 rebounds as Ginebra regained the solo lead in the eliminations with a 7-2 (win-loss) record following its third consecutive victory.
Ginebra also moved closer to clinching the top seed after formally clinching the quarterfinal spot by virtue of its victory over TNT, which slipped to 6-3 after its second straight defeat.

Japeth Aguilar completed a double-double as he finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds while fellow bubble latecomer LA Tenorio also played his finest game this season with 15 points and nine assists.
But it was Pringle who made the biggest shots. The shifty Fil-Am guard hit two free throws after the Tropang Giga came within two, 72-70 then converted tough lay-ups that brought Ginebra’s lead to 80-72 with 1:53 left.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone said TNT played below par, pointing to the Tropang Giga's 29 percent field goal shooting. The TNT also made just five of their 41 three-point shots with RR Pogoy and Troy Rosario missing all of their five attempts.
“I think they just had a poor shooting night. They didn’t have a lot of legs because they played yesterday,” said Cone. “Three-point shooting is a lot about fresh legs and I just don’t think they had their fresh legs tonight.”

The Gin Kings began the match with a 12-2 run and opened a 27-13 second-quarter lead, the biggest in the game. TNT fought back gallantly behind Jayson Castro to cut Ginebra’s lead to two before Pringle took over.
“We said at halftime that we were lucky because we had the lead because they missed all their three-point shots in that first half and they were open ones," said Cone.
"Even down the stretch, Jayson Castro got an open three and missed it. As much as I want to credit our defense, I don’t think you’ll see that twice in row with Talk ‘N Text. They are just too good of a shooting team,” added Cone.
Castro scored 19 points while Poy Erram had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Bobby Ray Parks also had a double-double with 15 points and 13 rebounds but in a losing cause.
Rosario only scored two points after going 0-for-15 from the field.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 85 – Pringle 28, J. Aguilar 19, Tenorio 15, Dillinger 7, Tolentino 6, Thompson 4, Caperal 2, Chan 2, Mariano 2, Balanza 0.
TNT 79 – Castro 19, Erram 17, Parks 15, Pogoy 12, Washington 9, Enciso 3, De Leon 2, Rosario 2, Reyes 0, Semerad 0, Montalbo 0.
Quarters: 20-11; 36-32; 64-57; 85-79.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph