By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings needed just one huge spurt in the third quarter to roll over the NLEX Road Warriors, 101-92 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night.
The Kings outscored the Road Warriors, 42-14, in the third quarter before coasting to their third straight victory after debuting in the midseason conference with a loss.
NLEX absorbed a seventh straight defeat to remain as the only winless team in the conference. It was also its 11th straight loss dating back to the last Philippine Cup.
Import Justin Brownlee once again led the Kings with 18 points, 13 boards, five assists, and three steals. Joe Devance added 18 markers while Japeth Aguilar tallied 17 points, five rebounds, and four blocks in just 21 minutes.
LA Tenorio chipped in 13 markers, eight of them in the third quarter when he combined with Brownlee and Devance to complete a 40-point turnaround.
Import Wayne Chism led NLEX in a losing effort with 16 points and eight boards. Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Eric Camson added 14 and 11 markers, respectively.
San Miguel Beer 109, Mahindra 80
The San Miguel Beermen demolished the Mahindra Floodbuster, 109-80, to finally exact vengeance on the team that had defeated them in every import-reinforced conference.
So lopsided was the victory that SMB coach Leo Austria had the luxury of resting June Mar Fajardo for most parts of the game. Fajardo saw action for only nine minutes, missing all his four shots. It marked the first time the three-time MVP went scoreless since 2013.
With Alex Cabagnot and import Charles Rhodes led the SMB onslaught as the Beermen romped to their fourth straight win. Cabagnot tallied a team-high and personal season-high 26 points, while Rhodes finished with a double-double 20 points and 18 rebounds.
Marcio Lassiter and Gabby Espinas Lassiter added 18 and 12 markers, respectively.
Mahindra suffered a fourth straight defeat and sixth overall in seven games. Mahindra head coach Manny Pacquiao showed up for the first time in the conference. However, his presence did nothing to fire up his team, which suffered its worst defeat since a 34-point blowout against Star last Feb. 1.
Import Keith Wright was the sole bright spot for Mahindra as he led his team with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Mahindra sorely missed the services of its top local scorer Alex Mallari who was sidelined by injury during practices last week.
Games Friday: Alaska Aces (4-1) vs. Phoenix Fuel Masters (2-4) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (1-4) vs. TNT KaTropa Texters (4-1).
