Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — Comebacking import Al Thornton exploded for 50 points to lead the NLEX Road Warriors to a rousing 114-112 victory over the Barangay Ginebra Kings on Friday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
It was exactly a repeat performance for Thornton as he also scored 50 points against the same Ginebra team in last season’s Commissioner’s Cup.
Three other Road Warriors scored in double digits with Kevin Alas finishing with 21 points while Sean Anthony and Jonas Villanueva added 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Ginebra played minus starting center Greg Slaughter who was sidelined with measles.
Import Othyus Jeffers was the top scorer for the Kings with 31 points on top of 20 rebounds. Joe Devance, newly named Ginebra team captain, added 18 points but could not finish the game due to cramps. Sol Mercado had 15 points while Mark Caguioa chipped in 10.
Mahindra 111, GlobalPort 98
The Mahindra Enforcers showed relentless firepower, convincingly beating the Terrence Romeo-led GlobalPort Batang Pier, 111-98, to begin their PBA Commissioner’s Cup on an explosive note.
KG Canaleta marked his 34th birthday by leading the Enforcers with 20 points, including four of six three-pointers, on top of six rebounds.
Romeo matched his career-high 41 points but failed to draw enough team support as the Batang Pier debuted with a loss.
Mahindra and GlobalPort exchanged long-range bombs right from the get-go, shooting a combined eight triples—five of them from the Enforcers—in the first quarter alone.
The Enforcers led all the way, posting their biggest lead at 60-45 in the second quarter.
After the halftime break, Romeo took matters into his own hands, scoring 14 straight points to cut Mahindra’s lead to a point, 62-61.
But the Enforcers refused to panic, fighting back to ward off the rallying Batang Pier.
Romeo continued to wax hot in the fourth quarter. His three-pointer with 6:11 left cut Mahindra’s lead to three, 92-89.
But Mahindra’s Karl Dehesa suddenly caught fire, scoring all his 12 points in the quarter, as the Enforcers pushed their lead to 103-89 with less than 3 minutes left en route to their first win in the conference.
Seven Enforcers scored at least 10 points. Aside from Canaleta and Dehesa, Revilla finished with 17 markers, Michael DiGregorio had 14, Mark Yee contributed 11 while Bradwyn Guinto and import Augustus Gilchrist posted 10 points apiece.
For GlobalPort, only two other players were in double digits aside from Romeo. Import Brian Williams scored 13 while Stanley Pringle posted 12 markers.
Games Saturday: Meralco Bolts (1-0) vs. Talk N Text Tropang Texters (1-0) and Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (0-0) vs. Star Hotshots (0-1).
