Thompson keys Kings rally past Dyip

MANILA, Philippines, February 28 ------ With Scottie Thompson as spark plug, the Barangay Ginebra Kings snatched a hard-earned 112-107 victory from the jaws of defeat over the Terrafirma Dyip to bolster their quarterfinal drive in the PBA Governors’ Cup yesterday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Thompson posted a 20-point, 13-rebound, 11-assist triple-double, doing the heavy lifting as the no-quit Gin Kings rallied from 22 points down to chants of “Gin-eb-ra, Gin-eb-ra” then outduelled the Dyip heading home to pull through. Justin Brownlee (29-15-7), Christian Standhardinger (26-8), Japeth Aguilar (19 markers) and LA Tenorio (eight) also delivered as the crowd darlings jacked up their win-loss record to 5-4 for sixth spot.

Coach Tim Cone’s charges needed a 70-44 salvo in the second half to turn things around and avoid the upset axe from the Dyip (2-7). “We were playing very soft to start the game. Our defense was getting ripped, we gave up some easy baskets with our turnovers and that gave them (Terrafirma) a lot of confidence,” said Cone. “By and large, second half was Scottie willed us to win with his tremendous effort. He was everywhere. We also got a lot of contributions from the rest of the guys – Japeth, Christian, and LA,” he added.

After successfully wiping out Terrafirma’s huge lead, the Gin Kings were able wrest full control in the last 1:30 with Thompson, Aguilar, Standhardinger and Brownlee leading a 7-0 windup.

In the nightcap, pacesetting Magnolia spoiled the debut of San Miguel Beer’s high-profile import Shabazz Muhammad with a masterful 104-87 bounceback triumph before 3,561 fans. Paul Lee and Mike Harris punched in 26 each with the former spearheading their second-quarter pull away and the latter leading the mop-up as the Hotshots solidified their hold of No. 1 at 7-1. Former NBA player Muhammad submitted 27 points with 17 rebounds in his maiden game for SMB, which slipped to 5-4 for a tie for fifth with Ginebra.

Source: philstar.com