Sans Slaughter, "Sixth Man": How is Ginebra Winning?

Playing without Greg Slaughter and their fans whom the team refers to as their "sixth man" cheering for them inside the venue, many thought that the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings would struggle in the first few games of the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup inside the bubble in Clark. We also need to remember that LA Tenorio isn't 100% healthy yet. 

What happened was the complete opposite as the Gin Kings looked like they haven't lost a beat despite the seven-month wait for the league restart. 

After beating the Meralco Bolts, 105-91 on Sunday, the Gin Kings are now tied with the TNT Tropang Giga and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters atop the team standings as the three teams have a 3-0 slate entering the second week of the PBA bubble. While Ginebra has been tagged as one of the favorites to win the Philippine Cup even before the bubble idea came out, the fact that they came out firing at all cylinders since their first game is something that continues to amaze fans.

Without the other half of their Twin Towers in Greg Slaughter, the Gin Kings need everyone to step up their respective games and one Gin King continues to prove that he deserves that starting spot: Prince Caperal. He is averaging 14 points per game in the bubble and is the second-leading scorer of Ginebra- behind Stanley Pringle's 15-point per game average. Caperal scored 24 points in Ginebra's win against the Blackwater Elite where he also shot five for seven from the three-point line. He's shooting a scorching 69% from the three-point territory in the first three games of the bubble. 

And Caperal isn't the lone bright spot for the crowd darlings.

What makes Ginebra dangerous right now is that you don't know who you are going to guard as they have multiple players who can score 15 points or more in a snap of Tim Cone's fingers. Aljon Mariano scored 20 points in their first game against the NLEX Road Warriors. Scottie Thompson had 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, and a block in that Blackwater game. They also have Jeff Chan who scored 12 points off the bench last Thursday and so did Jared Dillinger who scored nine points. Against the Bolts on Sunday, it was Japeth Aguilar who led the scoring chores for Ginebra as he scored 20 points off the bench while rookie Arvin Tolentino had 11 points. Ginebra's bench is also delivering the goods in the first three games as they're averaging 43 points per game (fourth in the league). They have six players who are averaging at least 11 points per game and that's scary because Japeth Aguilar isn't 100% in game shape. Yet. 

In the most wide-open Philippine Cup in recent memory, having enough healthy legs who can deliver will determine how far a team can go, and if Ginebra can keep up this pace, they might just win the Philippine Cup for the first time since the 2006-2007 season. 

Photo is from ESPN