Jan Ballesteros 6y

Ginebra goes 3-0, keeps NorthPort winless

Philippines Basketball

Japeth Aguilar came up big in the clutch as Ginebra spoiled NorthPort star Stanley Pringle's return with a 104-98 win in the 2018 PBA Governors' Cup on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Aguilar bunched together six straight points inside the final two minutes of the match as the Gin Kings fended off a late Batang Pier resurgence to claim their third straight victory.

In the process, the lanky forward finished with 23 points, nine rebounds, and two assists. It was import Justin Brownlee, though, who topscored for Ginebra with 27 markers to go along with eight rebounds, eight assists, and two blocks.

Greg Slaughter and LA Tenorio chipped in 18 markers apiece.

Ginebra squandered a lead as high as 19 points as the Batang Pier got it going behind Stanley Pringle, who was fresh from his stint with the national team in the recently-concluded Asian Games in Indonesia.

GlobalPort pulled to within a whisker, 90-89, but Ginebra was quick to regain a five-point buffer with six straight points capped by Aguilar's tip in with 3:59 to go, 96-91.

Pringle refused to give up. The high-octane guard scored six points after that to slice the lead to three, 100-97. But Aguilar had other things in mind. He was a recipient of two passes form LA Tenorio and drilled in two jumper on top of key to seal the win.

"His (Aguilar) shots kinda got us over the hump," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

While Ginebra is on a roll, the Batang Pier continued to struggle in the season-ending conference and reeled to a fourth consecutive loss.

Pringle showed no signs of fatigue and pumped in 34 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in his return. Rashad Woods posted a double-double of 28 points and 11 rebounds while dishing out six dimes.

THE SCORES

Ginebra 104 - Brownlee 27, Aguilar 23, Ferrer 6, Slaughter 18, Tenorio 18, Mariano 4, Thompson 4, Chan 2, Caguioa 2.

NorthPort 98 - Pringle 34, Woods 28, Tautuaa 11, Anthony 9, Taha 6, Fortuna 5, Guinto 3, Grey 2, Arana 0, Espinas 0, Gabayni 0.

Quarterscores: 33-15, 57-41, 79-73, 104-98.

EXTRA DRIBBLES

Ginebra will take a two-day rest after this game before going back to training in preparation for its next game against Blackwater on September 21.

If Stanley Pringle makes the final lineup for the upcoming window of the FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers, he will be used as a naturalized player.

NEXT GAMES

Ginebra - vs Blackwater on September 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum

NorthPort - vs Blackwater on September 19 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum

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