By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings did just enough in the endgame to escape with an 89-85 win against an import-less TNT Tropang Giga in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night, November 20, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Already ahead by as much as 17 points in the first quarter, the Gin Kings were stunned by a huge fight back by the Tropang Giga to take a 76-72 lead before Earl Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Justin Brownlee came up with timely hits to regain the lead at 81-78.
TNT tied the score for the last time at 81-all following a triple by Calvin Oftana, but Barangay Ginebra regained the edge at 85-81 on a jumper by Christian Standhardinger and two out of four free throws by Thompson.
The Tropang Giga made its last push courtesy of John Paul Erram and Brian Heruela, but Brownlee managed to convert four out of six free throw attempts to secure the win for the Gin Kings.
Brownlee had near triple-double numbers of 21 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, Stanley Pringle chipped in 12 markers, while Thompson had 10 markers and six assists as the Gin Kings rolled to their fifth straight win for a 7-2 record.
Mikey Williams top-scored with 20 points, including five triples, Roger Pogoy added 18 markers, while John Paul Erram and Glenn Khobuntin had 16 and 10 for TNT (4-6) without import Cameron Oliver due to a leg injury.
In the first game, NorthPort Batang Pier took advantage of the absence of Converge FiberXers import Quincy Miller to score a lopsided 112-97 victory. The Batang Pier cruised to its third straight win for a 6-5 slate, while the FiberXers dropped to 8-3.
Clinging to a slim 52-49 lead at the half, the Batang Pier leaned on the hot hands of William Navarro in the third quarter and inside connections by Prince Ibeh as they cruised to an 88-73 advantage.
The FiberXers managed to cut the deficit to as low as 13 points in the fourth quarter, but the Batang Pier got timely conversions from Navarro, Robert Bolick, Jr. and Arvin Tolentino to seal the victory.
Navarro finished with career-high numbers of 29 points, 17 rebounds and nine assists, Bolick Jr. added 26 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, Ibeh also had double-double 19 points and 15 rebounds, while Tolentino ended with 15 points for NorthPort.
GINEBRA 89 — Brownlee 21, Pringle 12, Thompson 10, J. Aguilar 9, Tenorio 8, Mariano 8, Malonzo 8, Standhardinger 8, Gray 5, Pinto 0.
TNT 85 — M. Williams 20, Pogoy 18, Erram 16, Khobuntin 10, Castro 7, Oftana 6, K. Williams 4, Tungcab 2, Heruela 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Soyud 0.
Quarterscores: 34-22, 53-45, 68-71, 89-85./ASC, WDJ