BARANGAY Ginebra San Miguel and Meralco scored contrasting victory against separate foes to strengthen their chances to secure a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals of Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Christian Standhardinger came up big anew with a stunning production to lead the Gin Kings to a 109-89 victory over the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters for their sixth win against two losses enough to pocket a quarterfinal spot.
“Japeth [Aguilar] is out so we have to come out together as a team and compensate to his strength in the team, which is rebounding. Honestly, it’s not blocking shot but that’s something I need to work on,” Standhardinger said.
Standhardinger shot 11-of-14 from the field for 28 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists while import Justin Brownlee had 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Scottie Thompson tallied 16 points, Von Pessumal and Jamie Malonzo made 14 points each while Jeremiah Grey contributed 11 points.
“I thought our guys coming off the bench really did a great job. They made a strong message that they are very reliable,” Ginebra coach Tim Cone said, adding that the bench players were able to give their starters like Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo and Justin Brownlee some rest.
Meanwhile, Meralco prevailed over Converge and ruined Danny Ildefenso’s comeback after eight years after posting a 132-129 win for sixth win against four losses.
KJ McDaniels made 33 points and 12 rebounds while Aaron Black scattered 28 points to lead the Bolts and withstood Converge import Jamaal Franklin’s 57 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists plus two steals performance.
Ildefonso played for four minutes and was scoreless with one rebounds and one turnover.
Converge dropped to 6-4 record.
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