MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Barangay Ginebra stayed undefeated in out-of-town games this conference after they outlasted Blackwater Elite in double overtime, 102-94, in the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup on Saturday, December 5 at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Angeles City, Pampanga.
The Gin Kings have won all 4 of its road games – including victories in Dubai, Laguna, and Antipolo. They assured themselves of a spot in the quarterfinals with a 5-4 record, while the Elite stumbled to their 5th straight loss and dropped to 1-7.
Both teams went back-and-and forth for 56 minutes before veteran guard LA Tenorio and rookie Scottie Thompson bailed Ginebra out with back-to-back 3-pointers to break the 94-all deadlock and take the lead for good, 100-94, with 1:21 left in the second overtime.
Whilte the guards provided big clutch shots, bigmen Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar led the way with a combined 60 points.
The 7-footer Slaughter had a game-high 35 points to go with 15 rebounds, 4 assists, and two blocks, while Aguilar had 25 markers, 7 boards, 3 dimes, and 3 rejections.
Ginebra's "Twin Towers" kept the team afloat amid Blackwater's uprising from the final minutes of regulation through overtime where Aguilar connected on a triple for the lead, 87-86, and Slaughter later completed a 3-point play, 92-90.
Tenorio finished with 19 points that included 3 triples along with 8 rebounds and two assists. Thompson added a near triple-double of 9 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal off the bench.
Veteran Mark Caguioa was quiet offensively with just 4 points but made up for it with 9 assists and 5 rebounds. Caguioa made the assist to Thompson in the second overtime for the game-sealing trey.
The Eite, desperate to end its losing streak, fought back from a 75-65 deficit with over 7 minutes left in the fourth. They leaned on the combined efforts of Reil Cervantes and Jason Ballesteros to tie the game at 84 at the end of regulation.
Mike Cortez took over in the first overtime while Jerick Cañada converted a one-dribble pull-up jumper, knotting things up once again at 92-all with 46.4 ticks left in the extra session to force another extra 5 minutes.
The fast-rising Thompson, a former NCAA MVP, opened up the scoring in the second OT before Carlo Lastimosa tied the score once again with a basket over Tenorio, 94-all.
Tenorio answered right back on the other end, making Lastimosa pay for being a step slow on defense for the go-ahead triple.
Cervantes topscored for the Elite with 13 points while Art Dela Cruz, who muffed a potential game-winning 3-pointer in the first OT, had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Lastimosa, Bambam Gamalinda, and JP Erram had 10 points apiece, while Cañada chipped in 9 markers and 7 boards.
Ballesteros, who likewise bricked two free throws that could've won Blackwater the game with 4.6 seconds left in regulation, scored 8 points and collared 16 rebounds.
The Elite's relentless hustle allowed them to out-rebound the Gin kings, 67-63. Though Ginebra moved the ball much better with a 30-13 advantage in assists.
Scores:
Ginebra (102): Slaughter 35, Aguilar 25, Tenorio 19, Thompson 9, Caguioa 4, Cruz 4, Ellis 4, Devance 2, Mercado 0, Villamor 0, Salva 0.
Blackwater (94): Cervantes 13, Dela Cruz 11, Erram 10, Gamalinda 10, Lastimosa 10, Canada 9, Ballesteros 8, Cortez 8, Reyes 6, Sena 4, Agovida 3, Golla 2, Melano 0.
Quarter scores: 27-22, 42-46, 65-61, 84-84, 92-92, 102-94.
– Rappler.com