Ginebra fend off Blackwater to go 2-0 in the PH Cup bubble

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel held their nerve down the stretch to fend off Blackwater, 103-99 and forced a three-way tie at the top of the PBA Philippine Cup standings Thursday evening at the AUF Arena in Pampanga.

Thanks to their performance in their opening win over NLEX last Sunday, coach Tim Cone leaned on the same starting unit as the Gin Kings delivered for the second straight game to force a three-way tie at the top alongside TNT and Phoenix, 

Center Prince Caperal upped his production by leading all scorers with 24 points on a 64% shooting from the field against the Elite, including five triples with Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson adding 17 and 14 respectively.

Those performances make up for the off-nights of their usual suspects, as the former Arellano big man said that it builds them confidence despite their leaders not in their full strength as of the moment

"Malaking bagay yung good start kami para sa kumpiyansa ng buong team. Malaking bagay yung dalawang sunod na panalo," he said after the game

Ginebra thought they have the game already in the bag when they lead by as much as 14 early in the third, but Don Trollano engineered Blackwater's fightback, scoring 11 of his team-high 23 markers there to shove themselves in front with a 39-point blast.

But Aljon Mariano saved the day for the Kings in the endgame, scoring all of his eight points in the payoff period as they weathered the Elite storm to register their second straight win.

The scores:

Ginebra 103 -- Caperal 24, Pringle 17, Thompson 14, Chan 12, J. Aguilar 11, Dillinger 9, Mariano 8, Tolentino 5, Devance 3, Tenorio 0

Blackwater 99 -- Trollano 23, Belo 16, Sumang 14, Daquioag 11, Tolomia 7, Desiderio 7, Golla 6, Magat 5, Canaleta 5, Dennison 5, Salem 0, Escoto 0

Quarter scores: 26-19, 49-37, 75-76, 103-99

PHOTO: PBA