Rallying Kings storm Hotshots; Aces prevail

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra turned the tables on Star in a dramatic second-half siege, carving out an amazing 116-103 win to secure an outright playoff passage in the PBA Governors Cup before a roaring crowd of over 16,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Torched by the Hotshots’ torrid shooting early on, the Gin Kings turned things around in the final half, overcoming a 17-point deficit on their way to a sixth win against two losses.

Almost everyone came through for the Kings in the last two quarters of play, leading to their huge 30-point turnaround that carried the team back to joint second with the Mahindra Enforcers, just a half game behind the front-running TNT KaTropa Texters (6-1).

The Hotshots stayed on a slump and fell deeper down the chart at 1-6. 

“We’re a little shell-shocked on how they came out early. It took us a while to deal with that shock. We recovered, broke their spirit in the third period and that carried through to the end,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“Justin (Brownlee) hit big shots all night long,” added Cone making special mention of their import who sizzled with a game-high 38 points.

Japeth Aguilar tossed in 21 markers while Sol Mercado and LA Tenorio contributed 14 and 13, respectively, in Ginebra’s largest output in a game this conference.

The Hotshots were super efficient in the first half, limiting themselves to just three errors and hitting at a 56-percent clip to enjoy a 58-50 lead at the turn.

They led by as many as 17 at 49-32 before Brownlee sparked a decisive run to get the Kings to within eight at halftime.

In the first game, Alaska Milk stopped the bleeding and got a big relief coming off the hump after pulling off  a 107-87 win over an importless Blackwater side.

With only a win to show in their last five games, the Aces came off the rut by simply pouncing on the Elite sans Eric Dawson who rested his injured back.

“Obviously, it’s a big break for us playing them without Dawson. I take this one. We couldn’t get down to 2-6,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

“We didn’t play fantastic but we played solid, and it’s nice to get back to the win-column. We’re not used to be where we are right now. It’s a new perspective for us,” added Compton whose team was a finalist in four of the last five PBA tourneys.

Despite the win against Blackwater, Alaska is still outside the Top Eight with a 3-5 slate.

“We now have to fight, scratch and claw. Perhaps, it’s time to get a break tonight. Hopefully, we get better as we’re battling for life. Our last three games are all against teams jostling for position,” said Compton.

The Aces take a nine-day break before playing GlobalPort (3-4) on Sept. 7, Phoenix (3-4) on Sept. 10 and NLEX (3-5) six days later.

“Rain or Shine had a bad start last conference but got to a good finish against us. Hopefully, we can match what they had done,” said Compton.

With Dawson helpless behind their bench, the Elite got buried deeper in the cellar at 1-7.

Mathematically, they’re still in the running for the quarterfinals, but they have tough assignments versus Phoenix, GlobalPort and San Miguel Beer.

LaDontae Henton made 33 points, eight rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block while Kevin Racal and Ping Exciminiano chipped in double-digit outputs as the Aces notched their third straight win after earlier triumphs over Barangay Ginebra and Star.

Henton scattered 23 right in the first 24 minutes of play and the Aces carried a 54-36 spread to the final half.

Right at the start of the second half, Alaska stretched its lead to 20 on a layup by Jvee Casio.

The Aces led by as many as 30 late in the third and Compton opted to rest his import in the entire fourth period.

 All throughout the contest, Compton said he was thinking “(my guys,) don’t you dare get easy on them.”

Minus Dawson and top slotman JP Erram, the Elite were led by Art dela Cruz and Carlo Lastimosa with 23 and 18 points, respectively.