Barangay Ginebra Kings bucked the absence of their two key big men and stayed undefeated in the 47th PBA Governors’ Cup with a 115-100 thumping of the NorthPort Batang Pier on Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Kings survived not just the absence of injured centers Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar but also the big games of NorthPort import Kevin Murphy and the returning Robert Bolick.
Justin Brownlee provided the usual firepower and with Jamie Malonzo, Nards Pinto and Jeremiah Gray ably backing him up, the Kings went on to pad their unbeaten start to 3-0.
Brownlee piled up 22 points, 15 rebounds and 12 assists while Malonzo came away with a career-high 28 points.
Malonzo also added 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks. Pinto added 18 points, while Gray chipped in 16.
Murphy erupted for 38 points and Bolick added 30 in his first game in the conference where the Batang Pier are now 0-5.
The Batang Pier led by 10 at the end of the first quarter, 25-15, but suddenly struggled in the succeeding periods that saw the Kings lead by as many as 19 points.
In the second game, the Magnolia Hotshots finally barged into the win column by blasting the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, 108-95.
New import Antonio Hester tallied 28 points and 12 rebounds to help the Hotshots end a three-game slide.
The Fuel Masters fell to 1-5 after getting just 11 points from import Du’Vaughn Maxwell.
Jason Perkins paced Phoenix with 20 points, while Larry Muyang and Tyler Tio added 15 and 13, respectively.
Image courtesy of PBA Media Bureau
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