In Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s 115-85 rout of the Blackwater Bossing on Friday, import Riley Grigsby scored just 18 points—a far cry from the 42 markers he tallied in the team’s 81-78 loss to the Phoenix Fuel Masters to open the PBA Governors’ Cup. He also shot just 14 times, or 19 fewer than the 33 attempts he had in the previous game.
It didn’t matter to Grigsby, who stressed that he isn’t someone who goes for big scoring numbers every game.
“I don’t see myself as, like, go out there and score 40 points every night. That’s not the kind of player that I am. I’m a team player,” said Grigsby in the aftermath of Ginebra’s win.
The 26-year-old Justin Brownlee replacement added 5 assists in an all-around, team-first effort.
Grigsby Makes the Right Plays as Locals Step Up
Grigsby added that the Blackwater game allowed him to make the right reads and create opportunities for his teammates instead of forcing his own offense.
“I’ma pass the ball if I get double-teamed. I’m making the right play. I could score at all different levels, but if I get to a certain spot and someone stops me, I’m making the right play,” he added. “I think that’s what it really came down to—making the right play today. We all did, obviously.”
“We” in this case means Grigsby and the Ginebra locals, who showed up big time against Blackwater after struggling in that game versus Phoenix. Stephen Holt led the way with 19 points—a huge turnaround after being held scoreless against Phoenix. RJ Abarrientos added 14 points, while Ralph Cu, Troy Rosario, Nards Pinto, Japeth Aguilar, and Kemark Carino each finished with 11 points.
Now that Ginebra is finally in the win column, it may only be a matter of time before the team fully finds chemistry with Grigsby and goes on a winning run.
