Barangay Ginebra was business as usual right from the get-go to score a convincing 119-93 triumph over Blackwater in the Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Sunday at the Philsports Arena.
The Gin Kings got back on the winning track after losing two in a row, and they did that by coming out smoking with a sense of urgency.
Christian Standhardinger worked double time on both ends of the floor, but it was on the offensive end where his presence was clearly felt by the league’s most popular team.
By halftime, Standhardinger already produced 21 points as the Gin Kings were firmly in control. His nifty pirouette move to the basket to elude the defense of returning Blackwater import, Shawn Glover, allowed Barangay Ginebra to match its biggest lead in the first half, 60-38, with still 2:56 left before the half-time break.
In notching its fourth win in six games, Ginebra solidified its hold of the fifth spot while also dealing Blackwater its sixth straight loss.
The Bossing absorbed their seventh defeat in eight games and not even the decision of enlisting Glover back to replace the high-scoring yet ineffective Troy Williams could arrest the skid.
Instead, the Bossing found themselves in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight conference and six of the last seven tournaments.
“We pride ourselves on being unselfish and we’ve done that conference after conference,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “But those two losses we suffered; those came against top teams. You can bring your best game and still lose to those teams — San Miguel and Magnolia.”
“But tonight, we jumped into that and made sure we beat teams that we need to beat.”
The Scores:
GINEBRA (119) — Standhardinger 27, Malonzo 25, Brownlee 22, Thompson 11, Gray 8, Tenorio 6, Pringle 6, Pinto 5, Pessumal 5, Mariano 2, R.Aguilar 0, David 0, Onwubere 0.
BLACKWATER (93) — Glover 14, Ular 12, Amer 12, Taha 12, Ilagan 11, McCarthy 9, DiGregorio 9, Escoto 4, Toralba 2, Banal 2 Casio 2, Sena 2, Hill 2.
QUARTERS: 37-20, 62-44, 96-74, 119-93.
