Saudi Gazette

MANILA: The Barangay Ginebra Kings began their 2018 PBA Philippine Cup with a sensational victory over perennial rival Magnolia Hotshots, 89-78, on Monday night in a game watched by over 22,000 fans at the huge Philippine Arena.

It was the third straight December 25th victory by the Kings over the Hotshots as Ginebra showed even more firepower despite missing three key players on its roster due to injuries: Joe Devance, Sol Mercado, and Art dela Cruz. The Kings have lost only once in 11 December 25 games.

Seven-footer Greg Slaughter played true to his monicker “Gregzilla” as he dominated the game with 24 points, 12 boards, four blocks, and two assists for Ginebra.

LA Tenorio ran the offense for Ginebra in spectacular fashion, finishing with 15 points, eight assists, five boards, five steals, and one block in 34 minutes

Tenorio indeed found a way to get the ball down low, dishing out eight assists, mostly to Slaughter and his frontcourt partner

Japeth Aguilar added 12 points, the last two on a slam dunk off a perfect Tenorio feed that gave Ginebra an 82-73 lead, with less than two minutes left.

Jervy Cruz also registered double-digit scoring for the Kings, finishing with 12 markers, including eight in the fourth quarter.

Scottie Thompson played the longest at 41 minutes for Ginebra, finishing with six points, nine rebounds, seven assists and one steal with only one turnover.

The Hotshots suffered their first loss after opening the season with a 108-95 dismantling of Alaska last Wednesday.

Ian Sangalang led Magnolia with 25 points and 11 boards but scored just a point off a split charity in the fourth quarter.

NLEX 115, GlobalPort 104

The NLEX Road Warriors roared to their second straight win, handily defeating the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 115-104, who made their debut in the 2018 Philippine Cup without their top gunner Terrence Romeo, who is still recovering from a knee injury.

Sensational rookie and second overall draft pick Kiefer Ravena continued to show impressive numbers, once again leading the Road Warriors with a team-high 20 points along with five assists, four steals, two rebounds, and zero turnovers in 29 minutes off the bench. His last five points came from a three-pointer that gave NLEX a 109-98 lead with less than two minutes and then a breakaway slam to seal the victory.

Playing center, JR Quinahan also stood out for NLEX, finishing with 19 points and nine boards. Larry Fonacier added 12 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Five other Road Warriors scored at least eight points each in a show of balanced offense.

With Romeo still out, backcourt partner Stanley Pringle played nearly like a one-man army, finishing with 33 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, and two steals that all went down the drain in the loss. Sean Anthony added 19 markers while Jonathan Grey chipped in 13.

Games Wednesday: Phoenix Fuel Masters (0-1) vs KIA Picanto (0-1) and Meralco Bolts (1-0) vs. San Miguel Beermen (1-0).