By ADRIAN STEWART CO
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings did not show any signs of tired legs as it cruised to a 120-101 victory over skidding Converge FiberXers in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City on Sunday night, March 5.
Jamie Malonzo spearheaded the offense with a conference-high 29 points, including several highlight dunks, to go with eight rebounds and five assists as the Gin Kings notched their fourth straight victory for a 7-2 win-loss slate.
Justin Brownlee had a near triple-double of 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, Christian Standhardinger chipped in double-double 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeremiah Gray contributed 16 markers for the defending champion.
From a slim 40-36 lead midway in the second period, the Gin Kings pulled away behind three-pointers by Malonzo, Brownlee and Gray to establish a 56-38 lead, but the FiberXers rallied to within 55-64 at the half on three straight triples by Maverick Ahanmisi.
Standhardinger carried the scoring load for the Gin Kings in the second half with his inside shots as the lead went up to 93-78 before reaching its largest of 22 in the fourth quarter behind outside conversions from Gray.
Ahanmisi top-scored with 24 points, including five outside conversions, Jeron Teng added 12 markers, while Justin Arana and David Murrell had 11 markers apiece as the FiberXers suffered their third straight loss for a 6-5 win-loss slate.
Converge import Jamaal Franklin, who was averaging 37.3 points, 12.4 rebounds and 7.9 assists, was curiously gun shy in the match as he ended up with four points on 2-of-5 shooting, to go with five rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes of play.
In the first game, Meralco Bolts moved closer to a possible twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals after a 92-86 victory over Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters. The Bolts moved up to 7-4, while the Fuel Masters dropped to 4-7.
Trailing 47-49 at the half, the Bolts created separation in the third quarter behind Clifford Hodge, KJ McDaniels and Chris Banchero for a 70-61 lead before settling for a 73-68 upperhand heading into the fourth quarter.
Meralco went on to build an 87-74 advantage in the fourth quarter on five straight points by Banchero. Phoenix managed to trim the deficit to six points late in the game, but the defense of the Bolts prevented them from coming even closer.
McDaniels finished with double-double 19 points and 16 rebounds to go with five blocks, Aaron Black added 18 markers, while Banchero and Hodge had 13 and 12 markers, respectively, for the Bolts.
GINEBRA 120 — Malonzo 29, Brownlee 28, Standhardinger 28, Gray 16, Thompson 5, Pinto 4, R. Aguilar 4, Pringle 3, Onwubere 3, Dillinger 0, Pessumal 0, David 0, Mariano 0.
CONVERGE 101 — Ahanmisi 24, Teng 12, Arana 11, Murrell 11, Stockton 10, Tratter 9, Racal 7, Balanza 7, Franklin 4, Ebona 3, Tolomia 3.
Quarterscores: 29-24, 64-55, 93-78, 120-101./ASC, WDJ