Kings too much for Pacquiao-less Sorento in Lucena

MANILA, Philippines -- Brgy. Ginebra romped to a second consecutive blowout win, this time, blasting a Manny Pacquiao-less Kia Sorento, 87-55, Saturday in the first PBA out-of-town game this season at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.

The Kings once again relied on their twin tower combination of 6-9 Japeth Aguilar and 7-foot center Greg Slaughter to take the early solo lead in the eliminations. Aguilar and Slaughter had 16 points apiece in the easy win.

Kia, which missed the services of playing-coach Pacquiao now already in deep training for his Nov. 22 fight against unbeaten American challenger Chris Algieri, put up a semblance of a fight early on. The Sorento even took the lead briefly, 20-19, behind the efforts of former Brgy. Ginebra big man Reil Cervantes and Rudy Lingganay.

But it was shortlived as Slaughter and the Kings pounced the undersized Sorento frontline with a 13-0 run, 11 of them coming from the stripes.

The lead ballooned to as much as 35 points in the fourth quarter.

Kia fell to 1-1 as Brgy. Ginebra made a good follow-up of its 20-point conquest of the Talk n Text Tropang Texters in the season opener.