Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings banked on the exploits of LA Tenorio and Greg Slaughter in the endgame to turn back the Star Hotshots, 92-87, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at the jampacked Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings thus posted their second straight win following their victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Feb. 21. Before that, Ginebra lost its first two games.
The Hotshots suffered their fourth loss in five games as they remained glued to the bottom of the standings.
The last time the Kings and Hotshots met was during their Manila Clasico Philippine Cup elimination round game in December last year. Ginebra also defeated Star during that match, with Tenorio scoring the winning basket.
Tenorio reprised his heroics on Sunday night, once again nailing the go-ahead basket in the final minute. Slaughter then scored five straight points to ensure victory for the Kings amid reverberating cheers from 16,000 fans.
Tenorio finished with 12 points, four boards, and three assists in 28 minutes, while Slaughter registered a double-double of 14 points and 12 boards.
Import Othyus Jeffers paced Ginebra with 23 points, 15 boards, seven assists, and one steal in 42 minutes of action.
Japeth Aguilar also sparked on both ends of the court, finishing with 15 markers and five rebounds aside from shutting down Star import Denzel Bowles who finished with just 15 markers.
The Hotshots were led by Mark Barroca who scored 16 points, including 14 in the third quarter when they went on a huge run to seize the lead.
The two basketball powers then engage in a fierce skirmish in the final quarter that finally ended with Ginebra on top.
Meralco 96, GlobalPort 88
The surprising Meralco Bolts remained undefeated in five games, frustrating the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 96-88, as they sustained their best start in franchise history.
Jared Dillinger led a balanced Meralco attack, posting 17 points. Rookie Chris Newsome added 15 while import Arinze Onuaku finished with a double-double of 13 points and 14 rebounds. Reynel Hugnatan, who only played in the second half, chipped in 12 markers on a perfect 5-for-5 shooting clip in just over 15 minutes of action.
Calvin Warner paced GlobalPort with 29 points and 19 rebounds. Terrence Romeo scored 18 markers on a forgettable 28 percent (4-of-14) shooting from the field.
The Batang Pier badly missed the playmaking abilities of starting point guard Stanley Pringle, who sprained his ankle in GlobalPort’s last game against the San Miguel Beermen last Friday.
Globalport thus dropped to a 2-3 win-loss record, tying the Tropang TNT for eighth to ninth place in the standings.
The Batang Pier were ahead, 80-78, before the Bolts unleashed a 10-1 run with less than three minutes left, sealing the win.
Games Wednesday: Blackwater Elite (2-2) vs. San Miguel Beermen (1-1) and Mahindra Enforcers (3-1) vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings (2-2).
