ANTIPOLO CITY. — The ball bounced off Ginebra backup wingman Von Pessumal’s left foot late before he regained possession and boomed in a four-pointer against Blackwater that sent the crowd into a frenzy late in the fourth quarter Sunday night.
Bolstered by a fiery second-half charge, the Kings overwhelmed the Bossing 86-63 to get back on track in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center here.
Pessumal’s four made it an 83-63 count with 3:22 left that came after Ginebra forced Blackwater’s prolific import George King to a shot clock violation.
Kings coach Tim Cone pointed to his charges’ defensive game that ignited their triumph despite their early shooting woes.
“We said at halftime we only scored 39 points and those were less than what we scored in our last game against NorthPort. But we gave up 60-plus points but this time we only gave up 31 points,” Cone said. “We didn’t shoot the ball well. I think we missed our first few shots.
“I think we were 0-16 from the three-point line until RJ (Abarrientos) kinda sparked us with two towards the end of the second quarter. We weren’t shooting the ball well but we came up with our defensive chops tonight—something we didn’t have against NorthPort,” he added.
Star reinforcement Justin Brownlee uncorked 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists for Ginebra while Abarrientos chipped in 15 markers on two triples, to go with two boards.
Veteran big man Japeth Aguilar also had 10 and seven as the Kings redeemed themselves from a painful 116-119 loss to the Batang Pier last Wednesday and rose to 7-4.
High-flying forward Jamie Malonzo also had eight points in his first game back for Ginebra due to a calf injury he suffered in April last year.
The Bossing absorbed their third straight defeat, including a 106-122 thrashing at the hands of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters also last Wednesday for a 1-8 slate.
Powered by Brownlee and former Blackwater main man Troy Rosario, the Kings stretched their 39-31 cushion at the halfway mark to 66-45 heading into the final 12 minutes.
A Maverick Ahanmisi basket gave Ginebra its biggest lead 75-50 with 7:59 remaining and the Kings never looked back from there.
King paced the Bossing with 27 points and six caroms while Jaydee Tungcab contributed 10 markers and two rebounds.
The Kings’ setback against the Batang Pier is now all water under the bridge and they are ready to press their bid for the playoffs and as always: Reach the Promised Land.