MANILA, Philippines – GlobalPort superstar Terrence Romeo hit a huge 3-pointer with 55 seconds to go to lead his Batang Pier past Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 89-85, on Sunday, February 14, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
After blowing a double-digit lead in the first half, GlobalPort managed to convert big shots in the fourth period and come up with critical stops to beat Barangay Ginebra a second straight time this season.
“It’s a total team effort. At the same time, inaappreciate ko yung defense namin (I appreciate our defense),” Batang Pier head coach Pido Jarencio said post game.
The win improved GlobalPort to 1-1, while Ginebra dropped to 0-2 in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. They were eliminated last conference by the same Batang Pier squad in the quarterfinals.
Romeo led his team in scoring with 21 points to go with 6 assists and 4 rebounds, while import Brian Williams had a better second game by posting 19 points, 17 boards, and 5 assists.
“Ang laki nang improvement na linaro ni Brian Williams against yung first game niya,” Jarencio said about his import.
(There was a huge improvement in the game of Brian Williams.)
Stanley Pringle also played well with 14 points and 5 boards, while Billy Mamaril provided clutch shots and posted 12 points.
“Nag bounce back lang siguro yung team kasi ang bigat nung talo sa Mahindra,” Jarencio said after his team allowed 111 points to the Enforcers in their last game.
(The team just bounced back because it was a huge loss to Mahindra.)
“Pero ngayon, from the start, talagang may energy. Lahat gusto manalo,” he added.
(But tonight, from the start, the energy was there. Everyone wanted to win.)
Ginebra was led by the 20 points and 7 boards off the bench by the returning Greg Slaughter. Japeth Aguilar posted 16 points, while the team’s import, Othyus Jeffers, had only 8 points but 16 rebounds.
When the clock hit the final two minutes of the game, a short jumper by Williams put his club up 84-83.
Ginebra recaptured the lead thanks to a pair of Slaughter free throws, leading to a Batang Pier time-out.
When gameplay resumed, Romeo had LA Tenorio guarding him at the top of the key on an isolation play. After using a few crossovers to get open, the budding PBA star attempted a 3-ball from downtown and hit nothing but net.
Jeffers and Slaughter then missed attempts at the rim on the next play, but GlobalPort wasn’t able to capitalize as Romeo missed his next shot from outside.
Tenorio then misfired on an open 3-ball from the corner. A minute later, Pringle was fouled and hit two free throws to put his team up 89-95 with a second to go.
Jeffers then missed a jumper following a time-out, sealing his team’s loss.
Ginebra shot 44% from the field but only 3-of-15 from downtown, while GlobalPort went 10-of-25 from long range.
The Gin Kings had better production from their bench, 43-23, but led only by as much as 4.
Scores:
GlobalPort (89): Romeo 21, Williams 19, Pringle 14, Mamaril 12, Semerad 7, Kramer 6, Jensen 5, Uyloan 3, Taha 2, Maierhofer 0, Sumang 0, Washington 0, Yeo 0
Ginebra (85): Slaughter 20, Aguilar 16, Mercado 11, Caguioa 10, Jeffers 8, Thompson 8, Cruz 4, Ellis 4, Tenorio 4, Devance 0
Quarter scores: 33-20, 56-43, 70-65, 89-85 – Rappler.com