Big men lift Kings in big rally

MANILA, Philippines - It took Barangay Ginebra nearly three full quarters to get going but once it did, the crowd darling looked every bit the pre-tournament favorite as it romped off with an 86-69 rout of San Mig Coffee at the start of the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum yesterday.

After playing catch up majority of the way, the Gin Kings unloaded their full might in the latter part of the third quarter, wiping out a 12-point deficit to wrest control, then went full throttle in the payoff period to score the runaway victory before 20,298 fans, the largest opening day attendance in recent years.

“We struggled in the first half. I told them to be patient. Nagmamadali kami on offense, ang nangyari puro (We were impatient on offense and had a lot of) forced shots, we committed a lot of turnovers, we’re not sprinting back on defense. That’s not our game. we needed to step it up in the second half,” said coach Ato Agustin.

The Gin Kings paraded their six-foot-11 giant and top rookie Greg Slaughter, who debuted with 10 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks. With 6-foot-9 Japeth Aguilar, who topscored with 18 markers to go with five blocks and eight boards, manning forward position, the Gin Kings simply controlled the shaded lane.

“Iba rin talaga pag may big guy ka sa loob. Yung intimidation, yun ang hinahanap namin, yung defense. (It’s really advantageous to have a big guy on the floor who will anchor the defense). It worked to our advantage in the third and fourth quarters,” said Agustin.

But it’s not just the bigs who struck hard for Ginebra.  

Dylan Ababou (16 points, spiked by three triples), on a comeback from an ACL injury that sidelined him for nearly a year, and Emman Monfort (three assists and two steals in 13 minutes), a pre-season transferree from Barako Bull, energized the Gin Kings when Agustin fielded them in the third. Starting playmaker LA Tenorio (17 markers, 10 assists) was at his usual self, as well.

Ababou, Monfort and Tenorio made the big turnaround for Ginebra, spearheading a 14-3 windup that put the Gin Kings in front, 58-53, heading to the fourth. There was no looking back from there as Ginebra sustained its vaunted firepower to complete the come-from-behind blowout.

Rain or Shine hacked out its own demolition job over at University of Southeastern Philippines (USEP) in Davao, clobbering Alaska, 87-74.

Jervy Cruz dished out a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds, making four of his seven attempts on the floor, to lead a balanced attack for the E-Painters. Jeff Chan paced RoS with 17 markers while Larry Rodriguez added 13 and JR Quiñahan and Gabe Norwood combined for 17.

The E-Painters detonated a barrage of three-point bombs in the late stages of the second quarter to tear the game apart, 49-34. They never relinquished control.  

Cyrus Baguio banged in 17 for Alaska as JVee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in 10 apiece.