Kings try to maintain Philippine Cup lead
THE Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, currently holding a share of the lead in the standings of the PBA Philippine Cup at 2-0, try to stay on top of the heap when they take on the Blackwater Elite in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) action today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Winners of their first two games in the PBA’s season-opening tournament, the Kings hope to stretch their winning roll by adding the Elite (1-1) in their list of conquered in their encounter set for 7 p.m.
Barangay Ginebra defeated the Magnolia Hotshots, 89-78, in their Christmas Day “Manila Clasico” and then defeated the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 104-97, in their PBA return last Sunday.
The Kings had it rough against the Batang Pier and turned to a late- push in the game to avert dropping to their first loss of the season.
Japeth Aguilar led Barangay Ginebra with 21 points while big man Greg Slaughter added 18 points and nine rebounds, with guard LA Tenorio tallying 17 points and seven assists.
Also coming up with solid plays in the Kings’ win were Aljon Mariano and Jervy Cruz, who came off the bench to produce 11 and 10 points, respectively. Mr. Cruz had 11 boards as well.
“We kind of just stole the game. That’s what teams coming from a championship do. They sleepwalk through the first three quarters, just turn on and try to win down the stretch,” said winning coach Tim Cone as he assessed the performance of his team, which won the title in the last PBA conference.
“I’m disturbed. I think we can do away with that. This is something we have to get better at. We have to fire right away,” the multititled bench tactician added.
Standing in the way of the Kings and a third straight win are the Elite, who are fresh from a bounce-back victory in their last assignment.
Blackwater defeated the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 92-87, on Dec. 29 with Mac Belo and Mike DiGregorio showing the way.
Sophomore Belo, who spent the latter part of his rookie year on the sidelines because of injury, exploded for 25 points on top of seven rebounds and two blocks.
He was greatly complemented by Mr. DiGregorio, who had 23 points, four assists and two steals.
Three other players scored eight points or more for the Elite as they gallantly slugged it out with the Elasto Painters and rebounded from their tournament debut loss to the Meralco Bolts previously.
“Our defense held tonight. Hopefully this win before the New Year will boost our campaign moving forward,” Blackwater coach Leo Isaac said following their victory.
Meanwhile, playing in the opener at 4:30 p.m. are Rain or Shine (1-1) and GlobalPort (0-2).