By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings overcame a third quarter hiccup to turn back NorthPort Batang Pier, 118-102, in Game 1 of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night, December 7, at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
After seeing their 12-point first half edge turned to a 70-all score, the Kings woke up with baskets from Jamie Malonzo and Stanley Pringle and consecutive scores by Justin Brownlee to pull away at 89-74.
Ginebra went on to build its largest lead at 106-86 after a triple by Pringle, but NorthPort had another run to cut the deficit to 99-110 but back-to-back three-pointers by LA Tenorio sealed the win for the Kings.
Brownlee finished the game with 39 points, with 19 coming in the third quarter, to go with eight rebounds and seven assists as the Kings took a 1-0 advantage in the best-of-three series.
Pringle chipped in 16 markers, including four outside conversions. Malonzo had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Tenorio and Earl Scottie Thompson had 12 and 11 markers, respectively, for the Gin Kings.
Despite the lopsided win, Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone said that NorthPort was a “frustrating team to play” as the Batang Pier kept on clawing its way back when they pulled away.
“It was [in] a blink of an eye. All of a sudden, we kinda broke it open, got it to 10 or 11. Then suddenly, it was 15 and 16. Then, they came right back at us. They are a frustrating team to play because they are good,” Cone said.
“If we can make stops, it’s going to put us on the open court. We are pretty dangerous in the open court,” he added.
Arvin Tolentino led the way with 29 markers for the Batang Pier. Robert Bolick, Jr. added 21 markers, while reinforcement Prince Ibeh and Kevin Ferrer had 18 and 15 markers, respectively.
The Gin Kings can clinch a semifinals seat when they repeat on the Batang Pier in Game 2 of their best-of-three quarterfinals showdown on Saturday afternoon, December 10, at the same venue.
GINEBRA 118 — Brownlee 39, Pringle 16, Malonzo 13, Tenorio 12, Thompson 11, Gray 9, J. Aguilar 7, Mariano 6, Standhardinger 5.
NORTHPORT 102 — Tolentino 29, Bolick 21, Ibeh 18, Ferrer 15, Sumang 9, Navarro 8, Ayaay 2, Chan 0, Balanza 0, Calma 0.
Quarterscores: 29-24, 56-50, 89-74, 118-102./ASC, WDJ