Barangay Ginebra wasted no time making a statement in its PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup debut, blasting guest team Macau, 110-93, on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With Justin Brownlee once again setting the standard and RJ Abarrientos delivering a strong all-around game in extended minutes, the Gin Kings came out sharp from the opening tip and never allowed the Black Knights to settle, handing Macau its third straight loss of the conference.
Brownlee opened his 13th conference stint in the PBA with another masterclass performance, finishing with 31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks. Despite being one of the smaller imports in a conference with no height limit, the veteran reinforcement dictated the tone early, unloading 10 points in the first quarter to help Ginebra seize control.
Abarrientos, meanwhile, thrived in a bigger role with Scottie Thompson sidelined by an elbow injury. The young guard poured in 25 points while also collecting seven assists and six rebounds, providing the spark that blew the game wide open in the second period.
After nursing a slim 24-21 lead at the end of the first quarter, Ginebra found another gear in the second. The Kings erupted for a 39-22 barrage, with Abarrientos leading the charge, as the crowd favorites stormed to a commanding 63-43 halftime advantage.
From there, Macau never seriously threatened again.
Ginebra’s relentless energy was exactly what head coach Tim Cone wanted to see, especially after the team’s slow start in the previous Philippine Cup forced them to claw their way back into contention.
“The guys came out with a really high sense of energy,” Cone said after the convincing victory.
Cone said that urgency was a direct response to the lessons learned from their previous campaign, when the Gin Kings had to recover from a shaky 1-2 start just to reach the semifinals.
“Ginebra fans remember last conference we got off to a really slow start. Pretty much everybody counted us out but we battled back, got to the semis. But that was a hard road that we had to deal with. We talked a lot about getting out of the gate quickly this time,” he said.
Aside from Brownlee and Abarrientos, Ginebra also drew solid support from Jamie Malonzo? Wait not in score. Need avoid adding wrong names. Holt added 13 points, Troy Rosario chipped in 11, while Ralph Torres contributed 10 as the Kings showcased their depth in an emphatic opening-night performance.
For Macau, Damian Chongqui led the way with 28 points, while Jenning Leung added 21 and Phoenix Shackelford had 18. Import Tony Mitchell, however, was held to just 14 points as Ginebra’s interior defense, anchored by Japeth Aguilar and company, kept him in check all game long.
With the win, Ginebra opened its campaign on a high note, while Macau fell deeper into trouble at 0-3.
The Scores:
Ginebra 110 – Brownlee 31, Abarrientos 25, Holt 13, Rosario 11, Torres 10, Pinto 7, J. Aguilar 6, Cu 3, Abis 2, Gray 2, Go 0, David 0, Estil 0, R. Aguilar 0
Macau 93 – Chongqui 28, Leung 21, Shackelford 18, Mitchell 14, Chao 5, Lu 4, Cao 3, Li 0
Quarters: 24-21, 63-43, 84-68, 110-93