Saving import Ryan

Ryan Fletcher dished out a stirring performance last night as he powered Barangay Ginebra to a 96-82 rout of Tanduay Rhum, sending the team coaching staff into a dilemma of whether it would retain the former UConn standout or not.

With a probable replacement – Jerald Honeycutt – watching from the stands, Fletcher brandished a superb game that netted a near triple-double, underscoring his readiness to keep his second tour of duty with the Kings.

Ginebra went on to erase the stigma of an earlier loss to gain third place in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at the Philsports Arena.

Fletcher actually turned in his second straight offensive outing in the 30s, scoring 32 points while banging the boards for 18 rebounds and issuing nine assists.

"I have to give it to Ryan, he’s a real professional. He knows that anytime he can be replaced yet he’s still working hard. Honeycutt is still out of shape so we’re still weighing our options. Sa ngayon laban pa rin sila kung sino ang tatapos ng tournament," said Ginebra coach Allan Caidic.

Keen on keeping his job, Fletcher energized his team with his spirited game as they nailed their third win in five outings. For the record, Fletcher and the Kings went without a win in the same stretch in this conference last year.

The cat-quick backcourt tandem of Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand teamed up with Fletcher as Ginebra dealt Tanduay its third loss against a lone win.

The Kings made a decisive breakaway in the second quarter and kept the Rhum Masters at bay the rest of the way as they picked up the tempo with Caguioa and Helterbrand tending the backcourt.

Caguioa finished with 17 and Helterbrand added 16 points even as they combined for 16 rebounds against four turnovers.

"Caguioa and Helterbrand proved to be our sparkplugs tonight. Together with Ryan and Alex Crisano, they put our game uptempo and that spelled the difference in this contest," said Caidic.

The Kings scored 14 points on fastbreak plays, including one that got the crowd up on their feet with Caguioa stretching his right arm to save a long inbound by Fletcher then using his left hand to hit a tough undergoal layup with Jason Webb at the trail, giving Ginebra a 86-73 lead with time down to 4:31 in the game.