It wasn’t pretty by any means, the victory Barangay Ginebra gutted out against an enemy the Gin Kings were supposed to dispose of with ease.
But it suits coach Tim Cone just fine.
Barangay Ginebra went through the proverbial wringer on Sunday night before pulling out an 89-79 win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup over Blackwater, pulling away only in the fourth period to stay in the upper half of the elimination round leaderboard at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
“It wasn’t a pretty game,” Cone opened up shortly after getting 23 points and 14 rebounds from import Othyus Jeffers and 20 from the rejuvenated LA Tenorio that helped Ginebra improve to 4-3 for solo fourth spot at the moment.
“But that’s OK, we’re trying to make do playing ugly and winning ugly,” he went on. “We want grind it out type of games like this one, as we get ready for the playoffs. It’s (winning) games like this one that makes you successful in the playoffs.”
Tenorio and Jeffers combined for 15 points in the fourth period, just five less than the total of the entire Blackwater crew in that stretch as the Gin Kings doomed the Elite to their fourth loss in seven games and out of the playoff picture at the moment.
Greg Slaughter finished with 16 points and nine rebounds and the 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar scored 14, including two highlight reel slams that got the small Sunday crowd roaring in delight.
MJ Rhett, Blackwater’s left-handed import, fired 24 points and had 23 rebounds in a monster effort that went for naught. Carlo Lastimosa added 19 for the Elite.
Ginebra put the clamps on the Elite and held Blackwater to its conference-low output, something, which Cone was particularly proud of.
“We scored 35 points in the first half but I was a happy camper, because we gave up only 32 points,” Cone said. “They (Gin Kings) weren’t happy at halftime, but holding them to 32 was a testament to the defense of my guys.”
Blackwater came into the game leading the tournament in scoring with an average of 105 points. The Elite, before the contest, had scored at least 100 points in all but one of their first six games.
Defending champion Tropang TNT, meanwhile, got back on its feet earlier after holding off sister squad NLEX, 85-80.
David Simon, TNT’s silently-effective import, had 23 points and 16 rebounds and Harvey Carey and Jai Reyes came off the bench to shoot 11 apiece as the Texters improved to 3-4 and crept closer to the magic circle of eight teams that will advance past the eliminations.
The Texters scored the game’s first 13 points and led by as large as 42-15, only to be dragged into a close endgame by the Road Warriors, who simply lost steam and dropped to a similar 3-4 record.
Tropang TNT was able to grind out the win even without vital cogs Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier, who sat out the game because of a twisted ankle and a viral infection.
Al Thornton, the NBA vet, paced the Road Warriors with 35 points and Garvo Lanete scattered 20, but NLEX got buried deep early with only Thornton and Lanete scoring heavily in the first two periods.
Sean Anthony and Asi Taulava, usual heavy contributors who finished in the top five of the statistical points race in the Philippine Cup, finished with just a combined 10 points for the Road Warriors.
The Texters closed out the half sitting on a 54-35 lead as the Road Warriors struggled to put points on the board with the rookie Lanete and Thornton combining for 26 points and the rest of the team responsible for only nine.
“We just needed this win to get over the hump,” TNT coach Jong Uichico told reporters. “Hopefully we can get more wins. I have no projections (for the playoffs), all we want is to just get wins and make this team better.”
Uichico said that Castro, the best point guard in Asia, will likely be suiting up in their next game as the Texters try to string together some victories and make the playoffs with ease.
Fonacier will also be back in the next outing, Uichico said.
But it suits coach Tim Cone just fine.
Barangay Ginebra went through the proverbial wringer on Sunday night before pulling out an 89-79 win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup over Blackwater, pulling away only in the fourth period to stay in the upper half of the elimination round leaderboard at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
“It wasn’t a pretty game,” Cone opened up shortly after getting 23 points and 14 rebounds from import Othyus Jeffers and 20 from the rejuvenated LA Tenorio that helped Ginebra improve to 4-3 for solo fourth spot at the moment.
“But that’s OK, we’re trying to make do playing ugly and winning ugly,” he went on. “We want grind it out type of games like this one, as we get ready for the playoffs. It’s (winning) games like this one that makes you successful in the playoffs.”
Tenorio and Jeffers combined for 15 points in the fourth period, just five less than the total of the entire Blackwater crew in that stretch as the Gin Kings doomed the Elite to their fourth loss in seven games and out of the playoff picture at the moment.
Greg Slaughter finished with 16 points and nine rebounds and the 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar scored 14, including two highlight reel slams that got the small Sunday crowd roaring in delight.
MJ Rhett, Blackwater’s left-handed import, fired 24 points and had 23 rebounds in a monster effort that went for naught. Carlo Lastimosa added 19 for the Elite.
Ginebra put the clamps on the Elite and held Blackwater to its conference-low output, something, which Cone was particularly proud of.
“We scored 35 points in the first half but I was a happy camper, because we gave up only 32 points,” Cone said. “They (Gin Kings) weren’t happy at halftime, but holding them to 32 was a testament to the defense of my guys.”
Blackwater came into the game leading the tournament in scoring with an average of 105 points. The Elite, before the contest, had scored at least 100 points in all but one of their first six games.
Defending champion Tropang TNT, meanwhile, got back on its feet earlier after holding off sister squad NLEX, 85-80.
David Simon, TNT’s silently-effective import, had 23 points and 16 rebounds and Harvey Carey and Jai Reyes came off the bench to shoot 11 apiece as the Texters improved to 3-4 and crept closer to the magic circle of eight teams that will advance past the eliminations.
The Texters scored the game’s first 13 points and led by as large as 42-15, only to be dragged into a close endgame by the Road Warriors, who simply lost steam and dropped to a similar 3-4 record.
Tropang TNT was able to grind out the win even without vital cogs Jason Castro and Larry Fonacier, who sat out the game because of a twisted ankle and a viral infection.
Al Thornton, the NBA vet, paced the Road Warriors with 35 points and Garvo Lanete scattered 20, but NLEX got buried deep early with only Thornton and Lanete scoring heavily in the first two periods.
Sean Anthony and Asi Taulava, usual heavy contributors who finished in the top five of the statistical points race in the Philippine Cup, finished with just a combined 10 points for the Road Warriors.
The Texters closed out the half sitting on a 54-35 lead as the Road Warriors struggled to put points on the board with the rookie Lanete and Thornton combining for 26 points and the rest of the team responsible for only nine.
“We just needed this win to get over the hump,” TNT coach Jong Uichico told reporters. “Hopefully we can get more wins. I have no projections (for the playoffs), all we want is to just get wins and make this team better.”
Uichico said that Castro, the best point guard in Asia, will likely be suiting up in their next game as the Texters try to string together some victories and make the playoffs with ease.
Fonacier will also be back in the next outing, Uichico said.
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