BARANGAY Ginebra and Phoenix got back on the winning track to highlight Friday’s PBA Philippine Cup doubleheader at the Philsports Arena.
The Kings welcomed back starting guard Scottie Thompson and then leaned on a hot start to whip the Blackwater Bossing, 105-86, ending a two-game slide and improving to a 4-3 record.
The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, went to Jason Perkins and rookie Ken Tuffin to subdue the Converge FiberXers, 113-107.
Perkins finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Tuffin added 16 and 10 boards in a pair of double-doubles that hiked the team’s record to 2-4 after losing back-to-back games previously.
Here are some takeaways from the weekend twin bill
1. Scottie Thompson finally played his first game in the all-Filipino conference after a slipped disc grounded him in the team’s first six outings. Although not yet totally 100 percent healthy, the former MVP immediately made an impact for the Kings behind his all-around game of seven rebounds, eight assists, and four points in 26 minutes of play as a starter. The return of Thompson augurs well for the Kings, who are eyeing a final push in their bid to secure a top-two finish for a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
2. For the second straight game, Christian Standhardinger didn’t see action in the fourth quarter for Barangay Ginebra. But the Fil-German big man once again showed his efficiency as he finished with a game-high 33 points, six rebounds, and three assists in only three-quarters of play. Unlike the last time when C-Stan sat out the final 12 minutes of Ginebra’s game against Terrafirma owing to what the coaching staff referred to as a ‘tactical move,’ the Kings already led by a huge margin, 87-61, against Blackwater that coach Tim Cone no longer saw the need to bring him back in as he rested his valuable center for the Kings’ next game against Northport.
3. Amid Converge’s continued downfall, the pair of Justin Arana and Alec Stockton remained as the positive takes for the two-year-old franchise. Arana and Stockton finished with career-bests of 32 and 31 points, respectively, as they became the first two locals in the team’s young history to score 30-plus points in the same game. San Miguel’s June Mar Fajardo and Jericho Cruz were the last two players to achieve the feat in the Beermen’s 115-99 win over TNT in last year’s Philippine Cup.
4. As the losses pile up for Converge (0-7), so does Blackwater, which suffered its fourth straight loss. What began as a promising campaign for the Bossing, who won their first three outings, has suddenly turned into shambles for the franchise. The team that once held the solo lead is now tied for the eighth spot with Rain or Shine and Meralco.
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