Gin Kings bench rises in win over Fuel Masters

MANILA, Philippines -- Indeed, it takes a village. 

Barangay Ginebra’s bench mob played a key role in the Gin Kings’ 109-96 demolition of the Phoenix Fuel Masters, head coach Tim Cone said, as they won back-to-back games in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. 

Ginebra trailed by four points in the fourth, 81-85, but found a higher gear and unleashed a backbreaking 19-4 run that broke the game wide open, 104-89, with about two minutes remaining. 

Cone, after the game, lauded the team’s reserves in the victory. 

“Well, let me just first say that, you know, coming off, this is a great win because we were coming off a really tough Magnolia game and we had a really short turnaround, and Phoenix had been off for a week, so they came out with tremendous energy. They hit shots from all over the place. And, you know, we were sluggish. We really couldn't get our game together,” he told reporters after the game. 

“I thought that the key to the game was really when Ralph [Cu] and Sonny [Estil] and Nards [Pinto] came on the floor and really gave us a boost offensively, and that allowed other guys to rest,” he added.

The three players – Cu, Pinto and Estil – did not reach double figures in scoring. Cu had six points on 2-of-2 shooting while Pinto had two markers. Estil went scoreless. 

But their impact on the game transcended the box score, the coach stressed. 

“I was able to rest RJ [Abarrientos] and Scottie [Thompson] for a while, and I was able to rest Stephen [Holt] and Troy [Rosario]. And being able to do that allowed us to play a much more energetic fourth quarter. And I thought really that was the key,” he said.

The game was tight through the third quarter, with Ginebra leading by just two, 77-75. 

The two squads then traded buckets, before a 3-pointer by Ef Escandor made it an 85-81 advantage. 

This was when Justin Brownlee, Thompson, Abarrientos and Holt teamed up and towed the Gin Kings to the victory. 

“Those moments when Ralph hit those two threes, Sonny with his energy coming off the bench, and Nards controlling the game, I thought was really, really key to the win. And then after, when the fourth quarter came, we just kind of played the way we expected ourselves to play for 48 minutes,” Cone said. 

Brownlee top-scored for Ginebra with 30 points, to go with nine rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block. Abarrientos chipped in 28 markers, five boards and three dimes, while Thompson produced 17 points, six assists and four rebounds along with three steals. 

Holt had 13 points in the win. 

James Dickey III flirted with a triple-double for the Fuel Masters with 21 points, 21 rebounds and nine assists, but he had seven turnovers. Ken Tuffin and Jason Perkins chipped in 18 and R17 points, respectively. 

Ginebra thus  rose to 4-2. Phoenix, on the other hand, lost its second straight game to drop to 3-3.