Ginebra Twin Towers Japeth Aguilar, Greg Slaughter lead Ginebra in opening day rout of Talk ‘N Text The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings were impressive in an opening day dismantling of retooled powerhouse Talk ‘N Text, 101-81, in PBA Philippine Cup action on Sunday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan. Ginebra’s twin towers of Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter had a terrific outing in this game, with the athletic Aguilar finishing with 18 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks while frontcourt partner Slaughter notched a double-double of his own with 16 points, 12 boards and two blocks. The Kings, coming off an offseason where they were able to continue learning both the triangle offense and the defensive mindset that their coach Jeffrey Cariaso has been implementing, looked extremely sharp on both ends in this one. The Kings were merciless down the stretch, outscoring their foes 18-5 and pouring it on well after the outcome was decided as the quotient system could come into effect after the elimination round. Mac Baracael also scored 16 points while longtime Ginebra duo Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand added 12 and 10, respectively. Talk ‘N Text jumped to a 7-2 lead after scoring seven consecutive points early in the opening period. They mostly kept Ginebra at bay, taking a slim 19-18 lead at the end of the first. But the Kings began to find its range from the outside in the second. They went on a 14-5 run with Mac Baracael connecting twice from long range and Jayjay Helterbrand adding another. Billy Mamaril capped the run with a three-point play off a beautiful dish from LA Tenorio, giving Ginebra a 34-24 lead. But the Tropang Texters, despite being undersized against the Kings, continued to pound the ball inside with Harvey Carey, Kelly Williams and rookie Matt Ganuelas-Rosser all hitting key baskets. Larry Fonacier cut Talk ‘N Text’s deficit back down to just four, 45-41, on a corner triple with 10 seconds remaining in the period. Slaughter kept Ginebra in the game, scoring the last five of his team’s points in the first half. Williams and Slaughter each had 11 points for their respective teams at the break. In the third, more outside sniping from Baracael and some scrappy play from Mark Caguioa sparked a 9-1 blast for Ginebra that pushed their lead back up to double digits, 61-51. Jayson Castro, who scored 11 points in the third quarter, attacked the basket relentlessly to score six points in a 9-2 Talk ‘N Text blast that got them back to as close as three, 63-60. But Ginebra was back to its old tricks once Castro returned to the bench, scoring seven unanswered points on a Helterbrand three, an alley-oop finish for Slaughter and tough, off balanced jumper for Aguilar. Talk ‘N Text rookie Kevin Alas finally got his first points of his PBA career in the fourth quarter and he poured it on, scoring the first seven of his team’s points. Unfortunately for him, the Ginebra offense was even better during that stretch with Chris Ellis slamming home a highlight reel dunk and Helterbrand knocking down a jumper as the Kings extended their lead even further, pushing it to 13, 83-70, after a putback from Aguilar. The Tropang Texters made their last stand after that with Williams splitting from the line, Alas knocking down another three-pointer and Williams scoring again to come to as close as seven, 83-76, with 5:43 remaining. Williams had 20 points and 11 rebounds while Castro finished with 19 for Talk ‘N Text. The scores: Ginebra (101) – Aguilar 18, Slaughter 16, Baracael 16, Caguioa 12, Helterbrand 10, Mamaril 8, Yeo 7, Ellis 6, Brondial 4. Talk ‘N Text (81) – Williams 20, Castro 19, Alas 10, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, Fonacier 9, Seigle 4, Carey 4, Ry. Reyes 4, Ro. Reyes 3, Aban 0. Quarterscores: 18-19, 45-41, 70-62, 101-81. interaksyon/interaktv/twin-towers-japeth-aguilar-greg-slaughter-lead-ginebra-in-opening-day-rout-of-talk-n-text
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 14:50:05 +0000