By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel bagged a much-needed bounce-back win over the Blackwater Bossing, 112-98, in the ongoing PBA Governor’s Cup on September 10, 2024, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
After a 95-88 loss at the hands of Blackwater two weeks ago, the Gin Kings entered the matchup with a sense of urgency and successfully pulled off the revenge win in dominant fashion.
The difference maker during their rematch was Ginebra’s tremendous defensive adjustment deployed on Blackwater’s talented import George King in the second half.
Ginebra already had concerns after the former NBA scorer had 19 points in just the first half and was bound for another massive performance when he shot efficiently from the field.
However, King’s rampage would eventually end in the last two quarters as the pesky and disciplined Ginebra perimeter defense limited him to just two points in the entire second half.
Stephen Holt, Ginebra’s, new utility guy who can score, defend, and rebound the ball, didn’t give any room to breathe for King in the second half as he closed every gap that the Blackwater reinforcement can expose.
Aside from Holt’s tremendous isolation defense, Ginebra also deployed quick double teams whenever King was looking to post up in the shaded lane.
With King neutralized, the Gin Kings just steamrolled their way in the final quarter and officially put Blackwater for good when King failed to score a single bucket in the fourth.
Former league Most Valuable Player (MVP) Scottie Thompson is slowly regaining his form after leading Ginebra with a triple-double stat line of 21 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds.
Thompson was everywhere on the floor and became Ginebra’s Mr. Everything when he heated up from the field midway through the second frame.
Backstopping Thompson’s vintage outing was Justin Brownlee who delivered a near double-double of 20 markers and nine boards.
Rookie point guard RJ Abarrientos continued to boost his case as the league’s Rookie of the Year after chipping in 15 points while star center Japeth Aguilar added 14 points.
