The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Robert Andaya
Fil-Am Stanley Pringle rediscovered his old shooting touch to power Barangay Ginebra to a convincing 117-103 victory over TNT in Game 3 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Pringle, who was limited to only 16 points in the first two games of the series, scored 11 of his 22 points in the first quarter alone to trigger the Kings’ fast and furious start to the delight of another big Ginebra crowd.
The 36-year-old Pringle, who was selected as the No. 1 overall pick by NorthPort Batang Pier in 2014, has been struggling with injuries the past few years.
But Pringle was back to his usual deadly self after Ginebra coach Tim Cone inserted him back to the starting lineup.
“He is still battling. He comes off the bench for a purpose, and not because we have a better player than him that starts. He comes off so that we can limit his minutes., But today, we kinda got desperate and started him. He responded incredibly well,” said Cone in an interview with Spin.PH.
Pringle nailed his first shot – a three-pointer – to give Ginebra an early 7-3 lead with 10:10 in the clock.
He followed it up with two more triples at the 5:17 mark and 3:59 mark for a 22-12 advantage and two free throws for a 24-14 lead with 3:21 remaining.
Pringle’s 11 first-quarter points were enough to give the Kings a 10-point cushion.
But it was not all Pringle for Ginebra.
Three-time Best Import Justin Brownlee finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Jamie Malonzo added 27 points with six treys and Scottie Thompson and Christian Standhardinger contributed 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Kings, who took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Veteran Japeth Aguilar also returned to action and scored two points in 4:51 minutes of action Import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson led TNT’s losing cause with a near triple-double of 32 points, job 10 rebounds and six assists.
Mikey Williams added 19 points, Jayson Castro and J.P.Erram added 14 points apiece and Roger Pogoy had 13 for the TRopang Giga of coach Joo Lastimosa.
The scores:
Ginebra (117) – Brownlee 29, Malonzo 27, Pringle 22, Thompson 16, Standhardinger 16, Gray 5, J.Aguilar 2, Mariano 0, Pinto 0, Onwubere 0.
TNT (103) – Hollis-Jefferson 32, M.Williams 19, Erram 14, Castro 14, Pogoy 13, Khobuntin 6, Oftana 3, Tungcab 2, Marcelo 0, Montalbo 0.
Quarterscores: 29-19, 57-57, 87-81, 117-103