MANILA, Philippines – Japeth Aguilar held his own against two of the finest young bigs in the PBA and powered Barangay Ginebra to an 85-66 win over Converge in the Philippine Cup at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in San Fernando, Pampanga, on Saturday, May 10.
The veteran forward starred in front of his fellow Pampangueños and dropped a game-high 23 points with 10 rebounds and 3 blocks on a FiberXers side featuring the twin towers of Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana as the Gin Kings got back on track and raised their record to 3-2.
Although now one of the elder statesmen in the league at 38 years old, Aguilar has remained a force, scattering 11 points in the second quarter to help Ginebra mount a commanding 50-34 halftime lead on the way to the 19-point rout.
Scottie Thompson chimed in 15 points and 4 rebounds, RJ Abarrientos contributed 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists, while Stephen Holt netted 12 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals.
Jamie Malonzo added 9 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 blocks as the Gin Kings redeemed themselves after failing to complete their comeback from 17 points down in an 89-86 loss to NLEX on Wednesday, May 7.
This time, Ginebra found no need to rally after racing to a 23-13 advantage then pushing its lead to as big as 21 points, 85-64.
Baltazar produced 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks in his return to the home court of the Pampanga Giant Lanterns, a team he led to a pair of championships in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League.
The homecoming of the No. 1 pick, though, ended in a blowout as Converge fell to 4-3 after shooting a cold 31% from the field and getting limited to its lowest scoring output of the entire season.
In fact, the FiberXers were held under 80 points just once this season prior to his game.
MJ Garcia ended up as the only other Converge player in double-figure scoring with 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 steals, while Arana tallied 9 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 assists.
The FiberXers backcourt of Alec Stockton and Schonny Winston put up just 8 and 4 points, respectively, on a combined 4-of-22 shooting.
The Scores
Barangay Ginebra 85 – Aguilar 23, Thompson 15, Abarrientos 14, Holt 12, Malonzo 9, Rosario 7, David 3, Adamos 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0.
Converge 66 – Baltazar 13, Garcia 12, Arana 9, Stockton 8, Ambohot 7, Winston 4, Delos Santos 4, Racal 3, Suerte 3, Nermal 2, Corpuz 1, Caralipio 0, R. Santos 0, B. Santos 0.
Quarters: 23-13, 50-34, 67-54, 85-66.
– Rappler.com