Barangay Ginebra San Miguel stopped the bleeding on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with a 129-111 rout of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the continuation of the PBA Governors’ Cup. The win is Ginebra’s third and catapulted the barangay from dead last in Group B to fourth—tied with the Blackwater Bossing at 3-4 but ahead by virtue of the winner-over-the-other rule.
Afterward, Tim Cone attributed Ginebra’s strong showing to a little desperation—and a big lift from Stephen Holt and new reinforcement Jordan Murphy.
“I think that we just were a little desperate. We played with a little desperation tonight being at the bottom of the standings,” Cone pointed out after Ginebra’s beatdown of Rain or Shine. “That’s not something that he [Murphy] never is used to. The players aren’t used to it. Certainly the fans aren’t used to it.”
Ginebra certainly looked like a desperate team against Rain or Shine, coming out with energy and ferocity from the get-go and keeping their foot on the gas pedal pretty much the entire game.
Holt, Murphy Spark Ginebra
The box score will say RJ Abarrientos led the Ginebra attack on Friday, and he did so in many ways as he fired a game-high 34 points on 6-for-11 shooting from deep to go along with his 9 dimes. But the barangay also got a big lift from Murphy and Holt, who scored 19 of Ginebra’s 40 first-quarter points. Murphy also issued 4 assists in that prolific opening frame from the reigning Commissioner’s Cup champs.
“We got Jordan in a couple weeks ago, so he’s had time to immerse himself into what we do,” Cone said of Murphy. “Jordan was great… He gave us a good lift, especially early in the game. I thought Stephen came out and took control early and kind of set the tone for us. But we’re obviously pleased with the way Jordan fills our hole. He’s that guy that can get a little in and out and rebound, defend. He’s a complete player.”
Murphy finished his PBA debut with 30 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal, and 4 blocks—all while shooting an efficient 10-for-16 from the field with a trio of treys. Holt had 14 and was 4-for-7 from distance.
Uneven Finish Leaves Cone Disappointed
While Ginebra got the much-needed win, Cone still found something to nitpick: an uninspiring ending. Up 105-76 after three, the barangay eased up in the latter portion of the final frame, allowing Rain or Shine to outscore them, 36-23, to cut the final margin down to 18.
“Disappointed in the last two minutes because we gave up 10 points in our lead and quotient is so absolutely crucial at this point, especially when you’re behind in the standings,” Cone said. “We were trying to keep that score high, but we gave up a couple of threes and a four towards the end and allowed them to come closer than we wanted.”
Cone has a point. Teams in Group B are separated by a game or two only, and making the quarterfinals could likely boil down to which teams have the higher quotient. To that point, a 30-point win would certainly be better than an 18-point rout.
Then again, Ginebra won. And that’s just as critical.
