The PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday saw three crowd favorites in action—Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, San Miguel Beermen, and Magnolia Hotshots. The first one was looking to stay with the leaders, while the other two were looking to get into the middle of the pack. Here is what happened:
Ginebra Dominates Blackwater, Gives Jamie Malonzo Rousing Welcome
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel welcomed back one of their key players—Jamie Malonzo—with a rousing 86-63 triumph over the Blackwater Bossing.
Malonzo finished with 8 points and 3 rebounds for Ginebra, who shot 2-for-17 from downtown in the first half and just 29-for-70 overall. But the barangay did just enough on defense, hounding the Sedrick Barefield-less Bossing to only 63 points. Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 18 points, while RJ Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar added 15 and 10, respectively. Troy Rosario chipped in all his 8 points in the third, when Ginebra broke the game open with a 27-13 quarter.
George King topscored in the game with 27 but was just 10-for-20 from the field and got little help from his Blackwater teammates save for Jaydee Tungcab’s 10.
Up next:
Ginebra vs. TNT Tropang Giga on January 17 (PhilSports Arena)
Blackwater vs. Terrafirma Dyip on January 15 (Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
The Scores:
Ginebra (86) – Brownlee 18, Abarrientos 15, J.Aguilar 10, Ahanmisi 9, Malonzo 8, Holt 8, Rosario 8, Thompson 5, Pessumal 5
Blackwater (63) – King 27, Tungcab 10, Suerte 9, David 5, Kwekuteye 4, Ponferrada 3, Guinto 2
San Miguel Upends Magnolia Behind Marcio Lassiter’s Clutch Shooting
Marcio Lassiter hit back-to-back triples in a tight endgame to help nudge the San Miguel Beermen past the Magnolia Hotshots, 85-78, in a crucial matchup between two teams near the bottom of the standings.
Lassiter finished with only 8 points, but 6 of them came in the last 90 seconds of the game—a three to give the Beermen a 77-76 lead and another triple to extend the lead to 80-76 with under a minute left. The veteran’s six-point cluster was part of San Miguel’s game-sealing 16-4 windup to improve to 4-4.
CJ Perez spearheaded San Miguel’s attack with 23 points, including his own booming triple down the stretch, on top of 10 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals. Import Jabari Nacnis had 18 points and 23 boards, while June Mar Fajardo put up 13 points, 14 boards, and 6 dimes. Magnolia’s Ricardo Ratliffe led all scorers with 24 points. Mark Barroca added 13 but was the only local in double-digits.
Up next:
Magnolia vs. Phoenix Fuel Masters on January 16 (PhilSports Arena)
San Miguel vs. Meralco Bolts on January 18 (Candon City Arena)
The Scores:
San Miguel (85) – Perez 23, Narcis 18, Tiongson 13, Fajardo 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8
Magnolia (78) – Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lasimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 4, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2
PBA Commissioner’s Cup: Next on the Schedule
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup continues on Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium with a twin bill that will feature three of the top teams in the standing and another one on the outside looking in. The curtain-raiser will see league-leading NorthPort Batang Pier take on the Meralco Bolts, while the nightcap will put the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters against the Converge FiberXers.
