By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dismantled the Converge FiberXers, 85-66, during their out-of-town showdown at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in Pampanga on May 10, 2025, in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
Fresh off a demoralizing close loss against the NLEX Road Warriors, the Gin Kings bounced back despite playing in an unfamiliar territory and blew the gates wide open to return to the PBA winning column.
Ginebra immediately got the upper hand after wrapping up the first 12 minutes with a 10-point lead, 23-13, before building a comfortable 16-point advantage at the half, 50-34.
Heroes were aplenty for the Gin Kings, but it was Japeth Aguilar who stood out the most as the veteran frontcourt superstar spearheaded the Ginebra rally with a dominant double-double outing of 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Aguilar led the early Ginebra onslaught as his uncontested baskets in the shaded lane helped the Gin Kings balloon their cushion to double digits.
Despite the massive paint scoring that Aguilar brought in the opener, Converge’s decision to stay away from the double team hurt them, as Ginebra head coach Tim Cone opted to feed him at will until the FiberXers sent soft defensive helps in the baseline in the final three minutes of the second frame.
When Aguilar’s touches were limited at the start of the second half, former Most Valuable Player (MVP) Scottie Thompson picked up where he left off and took charge in the second half.
Thompson finally regained his shooting touch, connecting on timely three-pointers that prevented the FiberXers from gaining any momentum at the start of the final period.
Aside from Thompson, Stephen Holt joined the scoring party midway through the fourth and delivered several baskets off wide-open fast breaks.
Thompson capped off the much-needed victory with 15 points, while Holt chipped in an all-around effort of 12 markers, five assists, and four rebounds.
On the other hand, Justine Baltazar’s double-double got spoiled in the loss, as the versatile power forward finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Unfortunately, most of their front-court rotation personnel were plagued by foul trouble, all because of Aguilar’s aggressiveness in the first half.
The Gin Kings will look to sustain their hot hands on May 16, 2025, as they square off against the revamped Phoenix Fuel Masters while the FiberXers gun for a bounce back on the same date against the NorthPort Batang Pier.
