Ginebra sinks Rain or Shine with huge 4th quarter storm

Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — With all their key players clicking, the Barangay Ginebra Kings walloped the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 101-87, in the PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday night. The Kings thus bounced back from a heart-breaking double-overtime loss to defending champion San Miguel Beer last week. This time around, the Kings were in full control of the game from start to finish, especially in the fourth quarter when they unleashed an 18-5 run. That avalanche of points broke the back of the Painters and triggered another outburst at the referees by their coach Yeng Guiao, who was promptly whistled for two technical fouls leading, once again, to his banishment from the playing court. Bull-strong import Justin Brownlee led the Kings with 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Sol Mercado sizzled for 19 points off the bench. LA Tenorio added 15 points and a game-high nine assists while Japeth Aguilar chipped in with 14, including a smashing and-one slam dunk with 42 seconds left in the game that put the game away. The Kings thus improved to a 5-2 win-loss record, tying the Mahindra Enforcers at second to third place in the standings. The Painters suffered their third loss in six games and slid into a tie for sixth to seventh place with idle NLEX Road Warriors. Mahindra 97, Blackwater 88 The Mahindra Enforcers had little trouble thrashing the Blackwater Elite, 97-88, snapping their two-game losing skid for a 5-2 win-loss card, thus moving closer to their first-ever playoff appearance. The injury-plagued Elite suffered their sixth loss in seven games to fall to the bottom. Mahindra led from start to finish with import James White showing the way with 23 points and 19 boards. Aldrech Ramos and Paolo Taha added 15 and 13 points, respectively. The Enforcers gained added boost with the return of their top playmaker LA Revilla and the inspiring presence of playing-coach Manny Pacquiao, who chipped in four points, including his first three-pointer in the league, scored in the second quarter, that wowed the crowd. Mahindra led by as many as 18 points, 97-79, after a rim-rattling slam dunk by KG Canaleta who finished with eight markers. Carlo Lastimosa led the Elite with 17 points, while import Eric Dawson, still nursing an injured back, added 15 points, 10 boards, five steals, and four assists in 36 minutes that all went down the drain. Games Wednesday: NLEX Road Warriors (3-3) vs. Meralco Bolts (4-3) and San Miguel Beermen (4-2) vs. Alaska Aces (2-4).