By MARK REY MONTEJO
Barangay Ginebra crushed Phoenix, 119-112, to notch its second straight victory in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City Friday evening, May 16.
Inspired by their commanding win over Converge in Pampanga, the Kings asserted their dominance by leading as many as 22 points, 108-86, after a Von Pessumal triple and never looked back.
Japeth Aguilar spearheaded the Tim Cone-mentored crew anew with 24 points highlighted by an impressive 75-percent shooting as Ginebrea boosted its slate to 4-2 and tied with San Miguel.
Despite Jason Perkins’ 28-point performance, Phoenix failed to recover and absorbed its second straight loss to drop its tally to 2-5.Next in line for the Kings are the Blackwater Bossing next Friday, May 23.
On the other hand, the Fuel Masters try to recover when they square off with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on May 28.
Aguilar also hauled seven rebounds, dished out four assists and made one blocked shot. Stephen Holt, Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo chipped in 18, 17 and 15 points, respectively.
RJ Abbarientos, coming off the bench, collected 25 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one block, while Troy Rosario had a quiet eight points.
Second stringer RJ Jazul backstopped Perkins as he chipped in 18 points. Ken Tuffin, Tyler Tio, and Kai Ballungay added 17, 15, and 12 points, respectively, in a losing cause for Phoenix.
