April 10 ------ BARANGAY Ginebra opened the 2023 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals with an impressive 102-90 win over TNT on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The finals protagonists were coming off an extended 11-day break, but the Kings showed no signs of rust as Jamie Malonzo helped Ginebra build a big lead early and never let up before 11,580 fans at the Big Dome. Jamie Malonzo finished with 21 points after being held to just four in the first half while Scottie Thompson put together a triple double of 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists in his first Finals game without LA Tenorio by his side.
Justin Brownlee added 31 points and 12 rebounds while Christian Standhardinger chipped in 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Gin Kings, who were never threatened after TNT big man Poy Erram left the game on back-to-back fouls at the final 9:51 mark.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone said he was surprised with how well his team played after the long break. “To be totally honest, we don’t know if we did a good job of preparing for this game” said Cone. “I was questioning myself. I was questioning whether we should take Good Friday off. I was questioning whether if we’ve taken too much time or we didn’t work hard enough. There was a lot of questions. I wasn’t 100 percent sure if we are going to play good tonight. But the guys came out all fired up, I thought, and set a good tone in the beginning of the game. I was kinda surprised to be honest with you,” Cone added.
Malonzo had eight points in the fourth alone, including a three in an 11-2 run that brought the lead to its biggest at 87-69 with eight minutes to play.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson collected 30 points and 20 rebounds, while Mikey Williams added 23 points for the Tropang GIGA, who aim to rebound in Game Two of the best-of-seven finals, also at the Big Dome.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 102 – Brownlee 31, Malonzo 21, Standhardinger 16, Pringle 11, Thompson 10, Gray 6, Mariano 5, Pinto 2, David 0, Onwubere 0.
TNT 90 – Hollis-Jefferson 30, M. Williams 23, Oftana 16, Pogoy 6, Erram 4, Castro 4, Chua 3, Khobuntin 3, Montalbo 2, Varilla 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarters: 29-20; 50-43; 74-62; 102-90.
Source: spin.ph
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