New import rousing debut fires up Gins

Rosell Ellis may not be as flashy as the other imports but he seems to be the perfect fit for Barangay Ginebra.

Ellis put up an inspiring game to lead the Kings to a crucial 95-90 win over the Talk n Text Phone Pals in the Samsung PBA Reinforced Conference at the Philsports Arena last night.

Ellis, a former Coca-Cola import, piled up 25 points and 15 rebounds in an impressive debut with Ginebra.

And taking the cue from their new reinforcement, the Kings came out of the rut, improving their win-loss record to 5-5 on their first victory in their last four games.

Talk n Text missed an outright slot in the quarterfinals as it suffered its fourth defeat against six wins ironically on the return of its head coach Joel Banal.

Meanwhile, Kerby Raymundo advanced to the semifinal round of the Ginebra-Purefoods King of the Court one-on-one tournament as he beat Yancy de Ocampo, 15-8, in their quarterfinal duel in the 6-foot-4 and above category.

"Yung puso at pride ng team nabuhay dahil nakita nila si Ellis nagpapakamatay," said coach
Allan Caidic, who later dedicated their win to his wife Milotte who turned a year older yesterday.

"He’s (Ellis) very smart at nakita natin na kundisyon siya dahil almost 48 minutes siya naglaro at hindi napagod. More importantly, he filled in the void left by Eric Menk. Yun ang hindi naibigay ni Ricky Price," Caidic added.

True enough, Ellis picked up the slack on Menk’s absence, providing inside presence which the Kings missed during their slump.

Curiously, Ellis, who led the Tigers to a third place finish in last year’s Governors Cup, improved to 4-0 his personal record versus the Phone Pals.

The Kings actually played catch-up most of the first half before turning it around in the third on a decisive run sparked by Ellis, Mark Caguioa and Bal David.

The Phone Pals forced a 68-all deadlock at the end of the quarter and the Kings had to hang tough in a close windup to clinch the win.

Caguioa finished with 20 points and David added 15 points. Double-teaming defense by the Kings limited Asi Taulava to only seven.

Coca-Cola pushed Shell to the brink of elimination as the Tigers trounced the Turbochargers, 100-89, in the second game.