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Aljon Mariano led Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s balanced scoring production, beating Northern Luzon Expressway (NLEX), 102-92, on Sunday for the first victory in season 45 of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup in the gym of the University Foundation of Angeles.
Mariano equaled his 20 career points, which he did last March 10 in Geneva’s 100-97 win over Phoenix in last year’s Philippine Cup, while six other players also scored in double figures to join TNT Tropang Giga in the win column with 1- 0 win-lose card.
Earl Scottie Thompson had 12 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, while Jared Dillinger had 12 points and Stanley Pringle had 12 points along with six rebounds and five assists. Joe Devance, Jeff Chan and Prince Caperal added 11 points each for the Gin Kings as well.
The Gin Kings showed great offensive plays for the first time since winning the 2019 Governor’s Cup last January, and despite playing without 7-footer Greg Slaughter, who decided to take a break for this season for personal reasons.
“We played a lot better than I thought, but I still hope we can play a lot better than we did tonight,” Geneva coach Tim Cone told reporters during the post-match interview.
“But it’s good to get first against NLEX. I hope this starts off on the right foot, hopefully it moves us forward and leads us to our next game with a little more confidence. “
JR Quiñahan, who was sent off after committing his second technical foul late in the third period, finished with 26 points to lead the Road Warriors. Kevin Louie Alas and Jericho Cruz had 16 and 11 points, respectively.
NLEX and Alaska fell to the bottom with a 0-1 win-loss record.
