Even with a severely depleted roster, CHRISTIAN Standhardinger and Barangay Ginebra remained winning thanks to their reliance on foreigners.
Standhardinger, coming off a 31-point, 10-rebound, 7-assist performance in the previous game, delivered 28 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists as the Gin Kings defeated the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters 109-89 on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Von Pessumal spearheading the considerable support from the bench mob, Barangay Ginebra cruised to their third consecutive win and moved closer to a sure Top 4 position in the elims, improving to 6-2 on the season.
Standhardinger and his colleagues blew over Phoenix in the second quarter, outscoring them 31-9, and had a commanding 59-30 advantage at halftime.
Despite their record of 4-6, the Fuel Master still hold a sizable lead over the Rain or Shine, Terrafirma, and NorthPort, all of which are trailing at 2-7.
Barangay Ginebra’s bench was able to get the job done while the starters rested, much to the delight of head coach Tim Cone.
“Our starting lineup is doing a great job, but they still need support from the bench. And our bench players were great; they really stepped it up for us today “
Cone highlighted Pessumal, who scored 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from deep.
Regular starters performed admirably despite less playing time.
Brownlee scored 18 points, grabbed 11 boards, and dished out 6 assists; Thompson and Malonzo added 16 and 14 points, respectively; Jeremiah Gray recorded a double-double by scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Standhardinger has been guarding the paint in Japeth Aguilar’s absence and showing no signs of letting up.
“As you all know, Japeth is still missing in action, and we must find a replacement. At least one of them is currently on the rebound, “Standhardinger commented on his increased rebounding totals.
“Sometimes I have to switch over to guarding the foreign player, but in this case it’s more important that we chip in on the boards. As for me, I’m relieved that today went well overall “according to Standhardinger, who has been averaging about 10 boards per game over the previous five games.
The Fil-German big man was able to hold his own against Phoenix’s Du’vaughn Maxwell, who scored 22 points and grabbed seven boards.
Two residents from Phoenix, Sean Manganti (15) and Javee Mocon (11), placed in the top ten. (SB)
The Result:
Standhardinger with 28, Brownlee with 18, Thompson with 16, Malonzo with 14, Pessumal with 14, Gray with 11, Pringle with 3, Onwubere with 3, Pinto with 2, Dillinger with 0, R.Aguilar with 0, David with 0, and Mariano with 0.
These are the players that contributed to Phoenix’s 89 points: Maxwell 22, Manganti 15, Mocon 11, Serrano 9, Tio 9, Garcia 6, Perkins 5, Muyang 4, Camacho 2, Adamos 2, Alejandro 2, Jazul 2, Go 0, Lojera 0, Lalata 0.
Scores in each quarter were: 28-21, 59-30, 85-69, and 109-89. Get more news and updates about your favorite player or teams on basketball only here at toponlinesportsbetting.ph.