TROY Rosario tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds in his best game with Barangay Ginebra in a masterful 93-81 win over San Miguel on Sunday in the PBA 49th Season Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings also got big numbers from usual suspects Justin Brownlee, Stephen Holt, Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos to post a fitting follow-up to their epic comeback against Magnolia in their Christmas-Day Clasico.
While Ginebra improved to 5-2 (win-loss), the Beermen continued to stuggle as they lost their second straight game over the holidays and slipped to 3-4.
The Gin Kings went on a 31-15 tear in the second quarter to pull away and the Beermen never got close enough to alarm their sister team the rest of the way.
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Rosario scored 10 points in the third quarter to sustain Ginebra’s big lead that reached as high as 20 points, 54-34. He shot 4-for-8 from beyond the three-point arc.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone also highlighted the team’s defense that limited San Miguel to only 31 points in the first half, the Beermen’s lowest output in the first two quarters this conference.
“Our guys came out and just played great on the defensive side,” said Cone. “I remember looking at the score and they had 25 points with about four minutes left in the half. And I was like, ‘Wow, how did we do that.’”
Brownlee had 19 points and seven rebounds, while Stephen Holt added 15 points. Aguilar had 11 points and eight rebounds, while Thompson came two points shy of a triple double, collecting 12 rebounds and 11 assists.
Abarrientos had eight points and four assists for Ginebra.
Jabari Narcis had 17 points and 10 rebounds, but only shot 8-for-18 from the field for San Miguel. CJ Perez had 14 markers, while Juami Tiongson had 12 points, while June Mar Fajardo tallied 12 points, 23 rebounds, and two blocks for the struggling Beermen.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 93 – Rosario 22, Brownlee 19, Holt 15, J. Aguilar 11, Thompson 8, Abarrientos 8, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 3, Adamos 0.
San Miguel 81 – Narcis 17, Perez 14, Tiongson 12, Fajardo 12, Cruz 9, Lassiter 6, Cahilig 6, Ross 3, Tautuaa 2, Brondial 0, Enciso 0.
Quarters: 16-16; 47-31; 66-50; 93-81.
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