Ginebra reverts to triangle, repulses GlobalPort

PBA

By Dugout Philippines

QUEZON CITY--Titleholder Barangay Ginebra came back a determined bunch from an opening-game letdown and smashed GlobalPort, 124-108, in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Beaten by the Meralco Bolts, 78-93, in a grudge match a week ago, the Kings vented their ire on the Batang Pier, putting up a fight anchored on their dreaded triangle offense that Stanley Pringle and his teammates couldn’t handle.

Obviously in utter frustration, Pringle and coach Franz Pumaren figured in an ugly verbal tussle during a timeout in the second quarter.

The Batang Pier patched things up in the second half, but still didn’t find a way to match up with the Kings who pulled away en route to their first win in the season-ending tourney.

The Kings dealt the Batang Pier severe beating in the second half and sent them reeling to a second loss in three starts.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone said the long period after their loss to Meralco allowed them to figure the best way to beat GlobalPort.

“Frankly, I shouldn’t be here,” said Cone, his opening words in the post-game interview.

“After the first loss, I didn’t think we could figure quickly, but we had couples of days allowing us to revisit the triangle offense a little more,” Cone pointed out.

The Ginebra bench chieftain said the triangle opened opportunities for Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar to score at the post.

Slaughter, Aguilar, Justin Brownlee, Joe Devance, Scottie Thompson and LA Tenorio had big games, making the Kings too tough for the Batang Pier.

Box Scores:

Ginebra 124-Tenorio 29, Brownlee 21, Slaughter 19, Devance 14, Thompson 13, Aguilar 9, Mariano 7, Cruz 4, Caguioa 4, Ellis 2, Taha 2, Jamito 0

GlobalPort 108-Holloway 36, GlobalPort 25, Pringle 18, Anthony 8, Arana 5, Maierhofer 4, Cortez 3, Pennisi 3, Aban 2, Guinto 2, Van Opstal 2, Grey 0, Ababou 0

Quarterscores: 29-28, 61-51, 93-76, 124-108

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