MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings routed the Meralco Bolts, 89-64, for just their second win in five games in a PBA Philippine Cup road game in Binan, Laguna, Tuesday night. Once again, Ginebra relied on its twin towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar for the points and rebounds. Slaughter and Aguilar scored 18 points apiece. Both combined for 20 rebounds. This time around, the twin towers got some help, with rookie Nico Salva tallying 12 points and five rebounds. Joe Devance, a big-time scorer during his days with the Star Hotshots but had been quiet since his transfer to Ginebra, finally showed a glimpse of his offensive game, finishing with eight points. The backcourt trio of LA Tenorio, Sol Mercado and Mark Caguioa each added seven points. The Kings broke the game wide open as early as in the second quarter, racing to a 30-17 advantage before settling for a 17-point lead, 42-25, at halftime. There was no cooling the Kings in the second half as the Bolts suffered their worst start in the league, falling to a 0-5 mark. Barako Bull Energy 93, Mahindra Enforcers 85 RR Garcia poured 16 of his game-high and career-tying 26 points in the fourth quarter, including 11 straight points, to lead the Barako Bull Energy to an emphatic 93-85 victory over the Mahindra Enforcers. Barako Bull thus nailed its second straight win and third overall against two losses to take solo sixth place in the standings. Mahindra suffered a fourth straight defeat in five games to slid to 11th place. JC Intal and Willy Wilson also provided much needed support for Barako Bull, tallying 20 and 11 points, respectively. Wilson also had a team-high 13 rebounds. Barako Bull's victory came just a day after the team traded new acquisition Jervy Cruz, formerly from Rain or Shine, to Ginebra in exchange for Rodney Brondial and the Kings' 2018 second round pick. Garcia was at his hottest when the Enforcers came charging back to cut a 12-point deficit, 57-69, to just six, 65-71. It was at this juncture when the former collegiate star strung up 11 straight points, pushing Barako Bull ahead, 82-69. His third three-pointer gave the Energy a 91-81 lead, putting Mahindra in a hole too deep to climb over with just 1:20 left. Mark Yee played his best game for Mahindra, collecting a team-high 17 points and a career-best 20 rebounds on top two blocks in just 26 minutes of play. LA Revilla added 12 points, five rebounds and four assists. Mahindra made just 31-of-84 field goal tries, including a woeful 3-for-24 from three-point line, negating its 59-44 advantage in rebounds.
Games Friday: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (3-1) vs. Blackwater Elite (1-3) and Talk N Text Tropang Texters (3-1) vs. NLEX Road Warriors (2-2).
