By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s fiery run in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup is still on full display after pulling off a lopsided victory over the struggling Converge FiberXers, 105-93, on April 27, 2024, at the Aquilino Pimentel Jr. International Convention Center in Cagayan de Oro.
Fresh off three consecutive wins in the past two weeks, the Gin Kings maintained its rampage and notched its fourth straight win to improve its PBA win-loss record to 7-3.
With the win, Ginebra is already assured of a quarterfinal spot in the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup playoffs that will kick off next week.
It was a dominant display of basketball for the Gin Kings despite playing on the road after extending its biggest lead of the ball game to as much as 21 points.
After a slow start in the first 12 minutes of the game, Ginebra quickly flipped the switch in the last three quarters to fend off the high-octane offense of Converge.
Converge had their moments in the game after equalizing the score heading into the second half but Ginebra’s stellar third-quarter outing immediately shut their window of opportunity.
The Gin Kings hosted its best scoring quarter in the third after putting up 35 points compared to Converge’s 21 markers.
It was then all Ginebra in the fourth and final frame as the duo of Christian Standhardinger and Maverick Ahanmisi led the charge for the Gin Kings.
The dynamic duo had a waxing hot start in the final canto that helped the Gin Kings widen the gap and maintain its double-digit lead.
Standhardinger was unstoppable for Ginebra and top-scored his squad with 33 big points, 12 rebounds, and nine assists.
Meanwhile, Ahanmisi backstopped Standhardinger with 17 markers, seven assists, and six boards while Ralph Cu added 13 points.
The Gin Kings will look to finish strong before the regular season ends and will aim to take down the NLEX Road Warriors on May 5, 2024, in their last game of the conference.
