Ginebra, Magnolia outplay rivals

By Robert Andaya

There’s life for Barangay Ginebra after Justin Brownlee.

Without Brownlee,  Tony Bishop and Christian Standhardinger combined for 59 points to power the Ginebra Kings to a  smashing 100-86 victory over winless  Converge FiberXers in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. last Friday.

Bishop,  who is taking the place of  the suspended Ginebra resident import Brownlee due to doping issues in the recent Hangzhou Asian Games,  had an impressive debut for Ginebra and coachTim Cone.

Bishop, who played for Meralco Bolts against Ginebra  during the 2021 PBA Governors Cup, led the way with 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting, along with 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in 43 minutes of action. 

Standhardinger, on the other hand,  added 25 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists in the Kings; debut..

Scottie Thompson also did well with 13 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals, while Japeth Aguilar chipped in with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

Stanley Pringle and Maverick Ahanmisi added seight and seven points, respectively.

Ahanmisi also had six rebounds against his former team.

Justin Arana led the Converge with 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting, accompanied by eight rebounds in 26 minutes of play under coach Aldin Ayo.

The FiberXers,  who dropped to 03,  also saw contributions from import Thomas Vodanovich with 13 points (6-of-13 shooting), six rebounds, and four assists, as well as Jerrick Balanza, who added 13 points and seven rebounds in a losing effort.

Despite trailing by nine points (41-50), the Gin Kings launched  a remarkable 13-2 run in the last five minutes of the second quarter, securing a two-point lead at halftime (54-52).

Ginebra extended its lead to 13 points by the end of the third quarter (80-67) and took as  many as a 16-point lead (86-70).

Earlier, Magnolia Chicken Timpladoss routed erstwhile unbeaten NorthPort,  112-74, behind the hot hands of import Tyler Bey  and Mark Barroca.

Bey came through with 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists for the Hotshots, who kept their perfect record with three straight victories.

Barroca added 17 points, Paul Lee contributed 16 points, and Ian Sanggalang and Jio Jalalon had  11 points apiece for the Hotshots, who led by as many as 38 points against the Batang Pier.    

Arvin Tolentino carried the fight for NorthPort with 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 40 minutes.

The scores: 

First game
Magnolia (112) – Bey 25, Barroca 17, Lee 16, Jalalon 11, Sangalang 11, Laput 8, Escoto 5, Reavis 4, Dela Rosa 4, Corpuz 4, Dionisio 3, Eriobu 2, Tratter 2, Murrell 0.

Northport (74) – Tolentino 22, Jois 16, Salado 8, Chan 6, Flores 4, Zamar 4, Caperal 3,  Munzon 2, Paraiso 2, Taha 2, Amores 2, Ayaay 2, Yu 1, Calma 0, Balagasay 0.

Quarterscores: 28-8, 56-30, 82-48, 112-74.

Second game
Ginebra (100) – Bishop 34, Standhardinger 25, Thompson 13, J.Aguilar 11, Pringle 8, Ahanmisi 7, Pinto 2, Pessumal 0, Cu 0, Gumaru 0

Converge (86) – Arana 20, Vodanovich 13, Balanza 13, Zaldivar 9, Nieto 7, Melecio 7, Stockton 6, Winston 5, Caralipio 3, Racal 3, Wong 0, Fornilos 0, Maagdenberg 0, Tallo 0

Quarterscores: 25-30, 54-52, 80-67, 100-86