Gin Kings nail first win, turn back Painters

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra chalked up a first win since its Governors Cup title run as the Gin Kings outfought the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a close, tough duel, carving out an 81-74 triumph in the Philippine Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City Sunday night.

Japeth Aguilar, Joe Devance, LA Tenorio, Sol Mercado and Chris Ellis teamed up at the finish, getting Ginebra through a tough grind versus the previously unbeaten Rain or Shine side.

The Kings were trailing by four at 70-74 before they really toughened up then blanked the E-Painters, 11-0, in the last four minutes of the game to get into the win-column after a losing season debut versus TNT KaTropa.

Ginebra pulled through despite a woeful 0-of-14 clip from beyond the arc, dealing the Commissioner's Cup champs a first loss in three starts in the all-Filipino tourney.

GlobalPort (2-0) was left as the lone team with an unbeaten slate following Rain or Shine's loss.

Aguilar more than held his own against ROS big men Jay Washington, Beau Belga, Raymond Almazan and Jewel Ponferada, coming through with a double-double game with 23 points and 13 rebounds.

Earlier, Phoenix Petroleum continued to rise, following up an upset of San Miguel Beer the last time out with a dominant showing that led to a 114-104 drubbing of Mahindra.

Behind a torrid shooting and an efficient game through the first 40 minutes, the Fuel Masters built a huge 30-point lead before simply going through the motion to settle for the 10-point victory.

JC Intal and his teammates fired 17 three-pointers to mark their second straight win that allowed Phoenix to pull abreast with defending champion San Miguel Beer, TNT KaTropa, Blackwater and ROS at 2-1.

Continuing to struggle with their overhauled lineup, the Floodbuster reeled with a third consecutive loss. They dropped those three matches by a whopping average margin of 17.3 points.

Intal dished out another topnotch performance off the bench, bombing away six three-pointers and finishing with 24 points that went with seven rebounds and four assists.

Matthew Wright strung up five treys, Simon Enciso hit four while Prince Caperal and Willy Wilson knocked in one apiece as the Fuel Masters terribly outgunned the Mahindra team which was good for only three-of-21 shooting.

Caperal, a young center out of Arellano U, collected double-double numbers with 17 rebounds and 12 points, Wright contributed 21 markers while Enciso, Cyrus Baguio and Gelo Alolino chipped in at least 10 points each.

The Fuel Masters, however, didn't show a killer instinct, blowing away their huge lead as they relaxed and slowed down in the fourth quarter much to the disappointment of their coach.

"I wasn't happy with the way we ended this game. I'm aching to get to the dugout to talk to the team," said coach Ariel Vanguardia during the post-game interview in the media room.

"We should alway be attacking and playing defense. We started the game the way we wanted," Vanguardia also said.

As they were completely focused on the game, the Fuel Masters tore the Floodbuster to shreds in the first three quarters.

Phoenix sat on a 27-point cushion at 95-68 at the end of the third then stretched the lead to 30 before getting easy on Mahindra.

The Floodbuster made it a bit close in the end by outscoring the Fuel Masters, 36-19, in the final canto.

Alex Mallari, a transferee from the Star Hotshots team, paced the losing team with 19 points.