BARANGAY Ginebra was bent on snapping out of its recent funk and pity the Blackwater squad that could do little to detract the defending champion from its purpose.
The Gin Kings got off to a blistering start and hardly let up to ultimately add to the Bossing's woes with a relatively comfortable 119-93 victory over the Bossing Sunday in the PBA Governors Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
The awesome trio of Christian Standhardinger, Justin Brownlee and Jamie Malonzo spearheaded a balanced Ginebra attack that took shape right in the opening period before putting the outcome beyond doubt by posting as much as a 93-65 lead.
The win thus cut short the Kings' slide at two games and gave them a fifth-running 4-2 slate as they now take a well-earned breather before returning to action again against Meralco on March 1.
Just getting back on track following losses to Magnolia and San Miguel Beer is a huge relief for coach Tim Cone, obviously pleased with the way his charges translated his pre-game words into game.
Sponsored content: "Coming off the last two losses... they were tough losses, they were tough teams. You can bring your best game and still lose to a Magnolia or a San Miguel," said Cone.
"But we knew tonight that we had to kind of jump out of that and make sure that we're beating the teams we're supposed to beat and to come out and make sure we got this one tonight."
Standhardinger, who finished with 27 points, six rebounds and five assists, wholeheartedly agrees.
"At the beginning of the game, coach stressed the fact that this game was very important for us and he was very right with that statement and I'm happy that we came together," said the Fil-German center.
Also leaving their indelible mark on the win was Malonzo, who had 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists, and Brownlee notched 22 markers, 10 boards, five dimes, two steals and two blocks in a game that saw Ginebra shoot 61-percent from the floor and issue 33 dimes.
Sponsored content: Not even Blackwater re-tapping the services of original import Shawn Glover could prevent the loss, the Bossing's sixth straight and seventh in eight games overall.
Glover tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds while Ato Ular had his own double-double of 12 and 10, but Blackwater could simply not keep pace with Ginebra's torrid start that saw the latter making 15 of 20 shots in the opening period for a 37-20 lead. (NC)
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.
