MANILA - Barangay Ginebra returned from a 19-point deficit to stun the NLEX Road Warriors, 83-75, in their PBA Philippine Cup meeting on Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Ginebra took over in the final 18 minutes of the game to steal the victory from NLEX, which was earlier thought to be on its way to a blowout win. Behind a solid first half, NLEX opened a 55-36 advantage with 7:11 left in the third period, but Ginebra finished the quarter on a 19-5 run before outscoring its opponent, 25-12, in the final canto to complete the comeback. Japeth Aguilar led the Gin Kings, who bounced back from their loss to the Magnolia Hotshots and moved to second place in the team standings at 3-1, just behind the unbeaten San Miguel Beermen, with 20 points, seven rebounds, one assist, three blocks, and a steal. Arvin Tolentino caught fire late and added 17 points, three rebounds, one assist, and one steal. Kevin Alas chipped in 16 points, four assists, and one steal, while Calvin
MANILA - Phoenix Fuel Masters rode on the hot hands of RJ Jazul to buck off a huge game from the returning Rey Nambatac and pip Rain or Shine (ROS) Elasto Painters, 106-102, in a PBA Philippine Cup Father's Day game at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. The Fuel Masters nearly lost an 18-point lead, but they prevailed in the end thanks partly to a huge dagger from Jazul. Phoenix was up, 63-45, at the start of the third quarter, but ROS stormed back later in the period and eventually cut the lead down to just one, 87-86, with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter. The Fuel Masters appeared to have restored order after extending their lead back to 10, 100-90, with 3:25 to play, but the E-Painters threatened again by trimming the gap to just three, 103-100, on a Nambatac triple with 49 seconds left. In the next play, however, Jazul doused some cold water on ROS' comeback trail after responding with a three-pointer of his own to put the lead back up to six. "Nagkataon lang na med
MANILA - Rome Dela Rosa scored on a game-winning triple with six seconds left as Magnolia scored its first win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the expense of NorthPort, 80-77, on Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City. Through Dela Rosa's heroics, the Hotshots evaded a huge comeback threat from the Batang Pier. Magnolia was ahead by as much as 17, 40-23, late in the second quarter, but NorthPort came alive in the second half and even took the lead before an up-and-down fourth quarter led to a 77-all tie. However, Jio Jalalon found Dela Rosa wide open from the left wing for the dagger with six seconds left. "We want Jio to create for his teammates, and good thing Calvin [Abueva] and also Aris [Dionisio] dived to the basket. And then nag-collapse sila, so si Rome yung nalibre (they collapsed, so Rome became wide open)," Coach Chito Victolero said after the game. Arwind Santos tried to force overtime, but he missed the potential game-tying three as time ran out on th
MANILA - NorthPort joins San Miguel in first place early into the PBA Philippine Cup after taking down Terrafirma, 100-86, on Saturday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. The Batang Pier slowly chipped away the Dyip's lead in the second quarter before pulling away in the second half. Robert Bolick led the now 2-0 NorthPort squad with 26 points, eight rebounds, and 10 assists, while Jamie Malonzo added 19 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and one block. Joshua Munzon and Juami Tiongson each fired 24 points for Terrafirma, which not just fell to 0-2 but also lost three players, Isaac Go, Eric Camson, and Ed Daquioag, to injuries. In the nightcap, Meralco began its PBA 47th Season campaign with a huge 109-98 come-from-behind win against Phoenix. Down by as much as 16, the Bolts crawled back and even pulled away from the Fuel Masters in the end as the veteran presence of Reynel Hugnatan proved to be crucial. Phoenix was on the verge of a blowout win after racing to a 77-
NLEX versus San Miguel Beer (PBA Images) MANILA - San Miguel took solo lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after stopping NLEX, 100-92, on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo. The Beermen contained the Road Warriors after letting them explode in the first period, where the latter raced to a 33-25 lead. SMB slowly crippled NLEX in the next 36 minutes, outscoring them the rest of the way, 75-59, to eventually prevail. SMB coach Leo Austria admitted that his team underestimated the opponents so he reminded his players to turn to defense for the remainder of the match. "The last time I watched them against Terrafirma, I thought we can beat them because they scored 31 points in the first half, but earlier, they scored 53 points in the first half. That's why I told the team that we have to step up on our defense," Austria said after the game. CJ Perez led the 2-0 Beermen with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Marcio La