Gin Kings rally to nip Hotshots

MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra stormed from 10 points down in the fourth quarter and held on against the Magnolia Hotshots, 85-81, in their PBA Philippine Cup matchup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings, who are already assured of a quarterfinal spot after Phoenix’s loss earlier in the day, rose to solo fourth with a 6-3 win-loss record.

Magnolia, meanwhile, dropped to 7-2 but is still on top of the competition.

Japeth Aguilar flexed his muscles inside and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds to go with a block. Troy Rosario backstopped with 15 markers, five boards and three dimes, while Stephen Holt had 14 points and seven rebounds in more than 42 minutes of play.

“Well, it was a huge statement game for us. We were playing for our playoff lives in that game. We put a couple losses together, would have been tough to get back into the hunt for the top four, but this keeps us firmly in the hunt for the top four,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said after the game.

“This still allows us to control our own destiny and, you know, we ran into a really good Meralco team the last timeout and we knew we were going to get much the same in Magnolia, but this time I thought we put up a better fight,” he added.

“We just persevered through the adversity and just overall showed a lot of grit tonight and that's what we're hoping to develop on this team.”

Magnolia led by 10 points, 71-61, early on in the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer by Magnolia newcomer William Navarro.

Slowly though Ginebra crawled out of the hole and cut the deficit to two, 69-71, with 9:14 remaining.

The two teams then had a nip-and-tuck affair down the stretch, with the Gin Kings eventually overtaking the Hotshots, 74-73, after a pair of free throws by RJ Abarrientos.

The squads traded baskets in the next minutes, before back-to-back layups by Rosario and Jamie Malonzo gave Ginebra an 80-77 lead with 3:25 left.

A pair of free throws by Zav Lucero cut the deficit to one, 79-80, with 2:11 to go, but a reverse layup by Holt, as well as a triple by Malonzo after a turnover by Rome dela Rosa, pushed Ginebra’s lead to six, 85-79.

Ian Sangalang hit a deuce to make it a one-possession ballgame, 81-85, but it was the last field goal made in the game.

And with time winding down, Magnolia had one chance to tie things up.

But a heave by Paul Lee from the 4-point area badly missed, sealing the Ginebra win.

Malonzo and Abarrientos added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Gin Kings.

Sangalang and Lucer powered Magnolia with 16 markers apiece. Navarro, who was traded to the Hotshots almost a week ago, had five points in 16 minutes of play.