BARANGAY Ginebra and Blackwater turned back separate foes to stretch their respective winning streaks in the PBA Governors’ Cup Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Kings turned to veteran Japeth Aguilar to subdue a fighting Phoenix Fuel Masters side, 110-101, while import George King took charge anew for the Bossing for a 110-99 win over the NLEX Road Warriors.
Coach Tim Cone and the Kings posted their first win streak this season and improved to 3-2, even as Blackwater reached the .500 mark after notching their third straight win since King came on board as a replacement for Ricky Ledo.
Ginebra is now tied with San Miguel for second and third place in Group B, while Blackwater catches NLEX at fourth and fifth place.
Here’s some of the takeaways in the weekend doubleheader at the NAS.
1.GOOD, OLD JAPETH LEADING GINEBRA CHARGE
With Christian Standhardinger no longer around, the 36-year-old Aguilar became the Kings’ primary big man in the middle. And so far, the 6-foot-9 former Ateneo and Western Kentucky University alum, has answered the call of the team and delivering what coach Cone referred to as ‘MVP numbers’ at this point.
Against the Fuel Masters, the former Gilas Pilipinas team captain turned in his best game of the season and of the last four years as he finished with 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting from the field. It marked the first time in four years Aguilar reached the 30-point mark or since dropping 32 points against TNT in the title-clinching Game 5 of the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark, Pampanga.
2.GARCIA ALSO TURNING BACK THE HANDS OF TIME
The veteran guard is another player in his mid-30s who’s been having a career resurgence at Phoenix. Despite coming off the bench as a third option to RJ Jazul and third year playmaker Tyler Tio, the former UAAP MVP out of Far Eastern University is proving to be a huge contributor for the Fuel Masters despite their 0-5 start so far.
In the last three outings of Phoenix, he averaged 11.6 points and hit three from the four-point arc, including a perfect 2-of-2 from the same area in the loss against Ginebra. And as proof of his durability, Garcia held his own against rookie guard RJ Abarrientos in their backcourt matchup. The Phoenix old timer had 17 points, two rebounds, and two assists, while Abarrientos, who is 10 years younger, finished with 16-4-4.
3.KING STRONG CONTENDER FOR BEST IMPORT AWARD
The Blackwater reinforcement is making a strong case for the Best Import Award as he certainly turned things around for the Bossing three games since he came on board. The former second round pick of the Phoenix Suns in the 2018 draft, the forward out of University of Colorado has been undefeated so far and averaged 38.6 points and 15.6 rebounds.
He torched the Road Warriors for 39 points and an impressive 3-of-5 shooting from four-point range, the last of which quashed whatever remaining hopes for a comeback by NLEX. The ex-NBA player will have his biggest test up next against three-time Best Import Justine Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra in the second meeting between the two teams this conference set on Tuesday.
4.ROAD WARRIORS ON A SLIDE
What difference a week makes. Shortly after stunning San Miguel in overtime, 112-108, in Cagayan De Oro City last week, the Road Warriors have lost back-to-back against Barangay Ginebra (119-91) and then opposite the Bossing over the weekend.
After looking like legit contenders with the win over the Beermen, losses against the Kings and Bossing exposed NLEX as still a work in progress. Currently, they sport an even 3-3 record.
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