MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings dismissed the challenge posed by the Blackwater Elite with a 98-81 victory in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Friday night.

The league-leading defending champions broke away from a tight game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Elite, 29-8, en route to their seventh straight win after an opening game loss.

Greg Slaughter paced Ginebra with 22 points and eight boards off the bench. Justin Brownlee displayed once again his all-around brilliance, finishing with 17 points, 13 boards, six assists, and four blocks. Jor Devance added 15 points and 8 rebounds while Japeth Aguilar had 10 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks. His last block was on Blackwater’s import Bill Walker with less than 7 minutes left that proved to be the turning point of the game.

Walker led Blackwater with 26 points, including 6 three-pointers, along with 17 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and one block. Mike DiGregorio and Roi Sumang added 12 markers apiece. Their production was not enough to stop the Elite from absorbing their fifth loss in nine games.

Alaska 101, GlobalPort 88

The Alaska Aces broke loose in the final quarter to handily beat the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 101-88 — their second straight win after a historic 14-game losing streak extending back to the last conference.

The Aces thus improved to a 2-6 win-loss mark, hoping to sweep their three remaining elimination round games — against Kia on Sunday, Meralco on Sept. 15, and Rain or Shine on Sept. 20 — to keep their quarterfinal hopes alive. The Batang Pier suffered their fifth loss in eight games and also need to win their last three games — against Star on Sept. 15, Blackwater on Sept. 17, and Meralco on Sept. 22—to stay alive.

LaDontae Henton spearheaded Alaska’s juggernaut with a huge double-double of 36 points and 21 rebounds. Calvin Abueva and JVee Casio added 12 and 11, respectively. Abueva scored all his points in the fourth quarter, when the Aces turned a closely fought contest into a rout, outscoring the Batang Pier, 34-21. Noy Baclao was also instrumental in Alaska’s endgame surge, scoring all his eight points in the final period. Sonny Thoss added 10 markers.

Alaska outrebounded GlobalPort, 60-44. Murphy Holloway led the Batang Pier with 25 points and 9 rebounds. Sean Anthony added 19. PBA returnee Mac Cardona started for GlobalPort, contributing 12 markers on 5-of-6 shooting.

Top gunner Terrence Romeo was limited to just 5 points on 2-of-9 shooting against five turnovers in 27 minutes. That was Romeo’s lowest output in nearly two years. It was later reported that the Gilas star was suffering from a minor knee injury.

For the second straight game, the Batang Pier missed the services of star guard Stanley Pringle, who remains in the U.S. following the death of his father.

Game on Saturday, Sept. 9, 2017: Star Hotshots (4-2) vs. Meralco Bolts (5-2)