Ginebra struggles past Mahindra in PBA Governors’ Cup

TENSE MOMENT: Action during the game between Ginebra and Mahindra in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Friday night. (AN photo)

There was no doubt that Barangay Ginebra played this one poorly, and that only sheer talent bailed the Gin Kings out in the end.
With its guns connecting, Ginebra gutted out a 93-86 win over Mahindra despite committing 24 turnovers on Friday night, as the Gin Kings practically booked a top four elimination round finish for a quarterfinal bonus in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“It wasn’t pretty, that’s for sure,” Tim Cone, the winningest coach of all-time who is trying to steer Ginebra to a championship, told reporters. “We probably played with our most disjointed game of the conference.
“Tonight, we won this game with our talent,” he conceded after getting double-doubles from import Justin Brownlee and 6-foot rookie point guard Scottie Thompson.
Brownlee scattered 27 points and plucked down 17 boards, and Thompson – who is the leading local rebounder for Ginebra – had 12 and 12 in a sterling start that more than made up for the mediocre game of LA Tenorio.
Japeth Aguilar made 19 points and fellow twin tower Greg Slaughter finally saw action for the first time in the conference, playing just a shade over 10 minutes and contributing seven points and four rebounds.
Slaughter, the 7-foot cornerstone, was out for the last four months after undergoing surgery to correct an ankle injury. Cone had said that they will be getting Slaughter back in the groove slowly, just in time for the playoffs.
Ginebra improved to 7-2 with the victory while dropping Mahindra to a 6-4 card with its second straight loss. The Enforcers would need to win their last game against Meralco to claim at least a tie for a top four finish.
James White had 23 points and 13 rebounds for Mahindra, which played without KG Canaleta but still gave the powerhouse Kings fits all game, coming within 89-86 with 35 seconds left.
“Mahindra kept us off-balanced all night,” Cone said, before heaping praises on rookie counterpart Chris Gavina.
“That kid (Gavina) can coach,” said Cone, the winner of Grand Slams with Alaska and San Mig Coffee. “They’re a fundamentally-sound team on both sides of the ball. We just won this game with our talent.”
Showing that it can play defense also, NLEX broke away in the second half to rout GlobalPort in the curtain-raiser, 114-98, and put a foot in the playoffs.
After giving up 59 points in the first two quarters, the Road Warriors allowed just 39 in the second half by shutting down the Batang Pier’s prolific trio, improving to 5-5 with the win and claiming at least a playoff for the eighth and last quarterfinal slot.
For GlobalPort, which is now at 3-7, the chances of advancing are now slim as the Batang Pier must hope that Rain or Shine and Alaska, who are at 4-5, don’t win another game. GlobalPort must also hurdle ousted Blackwater next week.
The Road Warriors can seal a place in the next round with a win over Alaska next week.
NLEX clamped down on GlobalPort’s Stanley Pringle, Terrence Romeo and import Michael Glover in the second half, dropping 37 points in the third to erase an eight-point halftime deficit with ease and win convincingly.
After shooting 19 points built around five of his six three-pointers in the first two periods, Pringle shot just eight in the second half.
The three were held to just 12 points in the third period, with the team shooting just 20 to allow the Road Warriors to scoot away.
Henry Walker drained six treys and rookie Garvo Lanete had five as NLEX shot 14 as a team and won a game that started out as a shootout pulling away.
Walker finished with 35 and Lanete 25 off the bench with three other locals shooting 11 or better for coach Boyet Fernandez.
“We did a good job in stopping their Big Three in the second half,” Fernandez said. “We made an effort to do that because they were killing us in the first (two periods).”
Pringle, the former Rookie of the Year, paced the Batang Pier with 27 points, with Romeo adding 26 and Glover finishing with 21.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine unveils a third import in the returning Josh Dollard against San Miguel Beer on Saturday, looking to also earn a tie for a quarterfinal berth while trying to hold down the defending champions in the 5:15 game at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Dollard, who averaged more than 32 points and grabbed around 15 rebounds in a stint with Barako Bull two years ago, takes over from Jason Forte and would try to resuscitate the Elasto Painters in their drive for a second straight championship.
And he will be up for an acid test as the Beermen will be shooting to creep closer to a top four berth and a twice-to-beat privilege in the first round of the playoffs.
Phoenix Petroleum and Alaska battle in the 3 p.m. contest with the Fuel Masters trying to keep their top four bid alive and the Aces simply looking for a win that would keep them in the running for a berth in the next round.