Barangay Ginebra San Miguel returned to action on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and showed it was a team to be reckoned with, opening its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign with a dominant 110-93 rout of the Macau Black Knights.
What Happened?
Reeling from two straight losses, the Black Knights again started strong, going toe to toe with Ginebra in the first as Jenning Leung (9 points) nearly matched Justin Brownlee (10) point for point in a 24-21 quarter for the Barangay. But Ginebra pulled away in the second frame, outscoring Macau, 39-22, on the shoulders of RJ Abarrientos, Japeth Aguilar, and JB. The Black Knights cut Ginebra’s 63-43 halftime lead to 84-69 at the end of three but could not come any closer than 14 the rest of the way.
Who Stood Out?
JB was JB on Friday, tallying 31 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks in yet another stellar all-around effort. RJ Abarrientos was sensational, too, firing 25 markers on top of 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
The dynamic duo of Damian Chong Qui and Jenning Leung carried the fight for Macau, with the former notching a team-high 28 points to go along with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, and the latter adding 21 markers and 5 caroms.
3 Keys to the Game
- Defense. Ginebra has consistently excelled on defense in recent conferences, and it showed why on Friday, holding down Macau to just 35.6% shooting overall and an atrocious 15.6% clip from downtown.
- Three-point shooting. While Macau has shown to be a prolific outside shooting team, it was Ginebra that got going from distance on Friday, converting 11 triples compared to only 5 for the Black Knights. This resulted in Ginebra outscoring Macau, 59-19, from the perimeter.
- Bench play. Once more, Ginebra got solid play from its bench players, who outscored their Macau counterparts, 24-12. The disparity would’ve been even bigger had Jayson David, a spark plug off that Ginebra bench, not been injured early in the second quarter.
Next Up for the PBA
Saturday, March 21, 2026 | Ynares Center Antipolo
San Miguel Beermen vs. Titan Ultra Giant Risers (5:00 p.m.)
Phoenix Fuel Masters vs. Meralco Bolts (7:30 p.m.)
