Ginebra leans on bench mob to subdue NLEX

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel had to dig deep from their reserves to notch their first win of the PBA Philippine Cup, subduing NLEX 102-92 in Angeles Sunday evening.

With the status of regular starters LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar being the talking point at the start of the bubble, coach Tim Cone relied on the balance scoring with seven of the dozen utilized were in double figures for their season opening victory..

Aljon Mariano made the most of his rare start for the Gin Kings, firing in a team-high 20 with Scottie Thompson pitching in a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Prince Caperal also filled in the shoes of the high-leaping veteran on his own unusual start, hitting all of his three tries from beyond the arc en route to his own eleven-point output.

It was the second unit that became Ginebra's saving grace against the Road Warriors, outscoring them 42-38 with Jared Dillinger leading their bench mob with 12, followed by Jeff Chan and Joe Devance who had 11 apiece.

With an even affair at halftime, Ginebra pulled away in the second half, posting their biggest lead at 16 twice in the third period to put away Yeng Guiao's men.

JR Quinahan lead all scorers with 26 points for NLEX.

The scores:

Ginebra 102 -- Mariano 20, Thompson 12, Pringle 12, Dillinger 12, Chan 11, Caperal 11, Devance 11, J. Aguilar 7, Tolentino 5, Tenorio 1, R. Aguilar 0, Balanza 0

NLEX 92 -- Quinahan 26, Alas 16, Cruz 11, Porter 9, Soyud 7, Ravena 6, Semerad 5, Miranda 4, Galanza 3, Ighalo 3, Ayonayon 2, Paniamogan 0

Quarter scores: 31-22, 48-48, 83-75, 102-92

Photo: PBA