Japeth Aguilar showed the way as the Ginebra Gin Kings got back on their feet in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
As soon as he landed on his feet after an alley-oop play from RJ Abarrientos, Japeth Aguilar frantically pointed to his right leg, looking like he was suffering from cramps.
This after Aguilar showed the young bigs of Converge who's boss as his basket proved to be the final nail in the coffin in Ginebra’s dominant 85-66 win over the FiberXers in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Saturday night, May 10.
Against Converge's twin towers, Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar, the Aguilar stood tall and frolicked with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks at the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center in Pampanga.
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More importantly, the Gin Kings rebounded from a gut-wrenching loss to NLEX in their previous outing and upped their record to 3-2.
Baltazar paced the FiberXers with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Arana had nine markers and 11 boards.
Playing in front of his home crowd, Aguilar came alive in the second period where he made 11 of his total output as Ginebra took a comfortable 50-34 lead heading to the break.
But behind Baltazar and Arana, the FiberXers found better signal and trimmed the gap to single digits, 43-52, early in the third.
But the Gin Kings were quick to restore order, eventually putting Converge's three-game run to a screeching halt.
Converge now totes a 4-2 card.
Ginebra vs Converge Scores:
GINEBRA 85 – Aguilar 23, Thompson 15, Abarrientos 14, Holt 12, Malonzo 9, Rosario 7, David 3, Adamos 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0.
CONVERGE 66 – Baltazar 13, Garcia 12, Arana 9, Stockton 8, Ambohot 7, Winston 4, Delos Santos 4, Racal 3, Suerte 3, Nermal 2, Corpuz 1, Caralipio 0, R. Santos 0, B. Santos 0.
Quarterscores: 23-13, 50-34, 67-54, 85-66.