Gins in high spirits, dwarf Giants

DUMAGUETE — Powerhouse Barangay Ginebra followed up its big win over Welcoat Sunday with yet another big win over defending champion Purefoods Chunkee in a Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup road game here last night.

The Kings picked up from where they left off against the Dragons and walloped the Giants, 86-67, before a good weekend crowd at the Lamberto Macias Sports Center.

Ginebra got off to a blazing start and never let up on the badly-stunned Purefoods side, hacking out a second straight victory that gave the Kings an early share of the lead with the Red Bull squad.

So impressive were the Kings that they led by as many as 28 points in their lopsided win over the Giants, the reigning titlists who are winless in two starts.

After taking the opening quarter at 24-12, the Kings kept double-digit spreads all the way to the finish.

Drawing tremendous boost from their new recruits, the Kings started the game with a 10-2 run and posted leads of more than 20 points right in the second quarter.

They took the turn at 50-24 and were hardly threatened in the last 24 minutes of play.

Meanwhile, Talk n Text tries to get a piece of the lead with Red Bull and Ginebra as the Pals take on the Alaska Milk Aces at the resumption of play at the Araneta Coliseum today.

Talk n Text and Alaska are two teams that could well have a good ride in the new PBA season, possibly reaping the fruits of their massive buildup the previous campaign.

Coaches Derrick Pumaren and Tim Cone feel their respective teams have better bonding now although they still need to improve their chemistry if they’re to figure prominently in the fight for the coveted crown.

The two teams with practically the same mission slug it out in the 6:30 p.m. mainer. Coca-Cola, which had its own revamp during the off-season, battles newcomer Welcoat in the 4:05 p.m. opener.

"I think we’ve improved from last season. Unlike last campaign na nagkakapaan pa ang mga players, ngayon medyo nagkakaamuyan na," said Pumaren moments after his team got off to a winning start in the season, ripping Purefoods Chunkee, 108-99, Wednesday.

"We felt good with ourselves in setting out for the season. We just got shaken a bit when we lost our first game to Red Bull in Guam," said Cone. "But we played better in our second game against Coca-Cola and we’re determined to further work on our chemistry."