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Both LA Tenorio and Japeth Aguilar were not in full force at Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s debut in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup against NLEX, on Sunday night at the Universidad de Ángeles Cultural and Sports Center in Pampanga.
The two only joined team games the night before the game as they had just entered the bubble days ago. Tenorio has just come out of a laparoscopic appendectomy, while Aguilar reportedly went through rehab for an old injury.
But even if the stars weren’t in their usual state, the Barangay surely received many contributions from the other Gin Kings that ultimately led to a 102-92 victory over the Road Warriors, much to the delight of coach Tim Cone.
A total of seven players finished in double figures in the victory, with Aljon Mariano leading the way with 20 points on an efficient 8-of-13 shooting from the field along with five rebounds, four assists and a steal in 30 minutes.
Then there is his good friend Scottie Thompson, who had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, with five assists, two steals and a block. His outside shot was also on show, as he hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc.
Thompson scored eight in the third quarter as the Gin Kings unloaded a 13-2 run en route to a 75-59 lead, before Mariano scored nine in the final period to keep the Road Warriors at bay.
The six foot seven slot machine, Prince Caperal, was part of Cone’s starting unit and it did not disappoint as he finished with 11 points on 4 of 5 3 carom shots in nearly 25 minutes of playing time.
Jared Dillinger himself proved how valuable he is to Barangay by scoring 12 points, five rebounds and a block from the bench.
“Guys like Aljon and JD really stepped up. Prince approached us; we got a really good second half from Scottie Thompson. We played much better than I thought ”. Cone said after the game.
But as happy as he is, the league’s most accomplished mentor believes that Guinevere will continue to get more help, especially from his rookie trio of Arvin Tolentino, Jerrick Balanza and Kent Salado.
Tolentino started his PBA debut, with five points and two rebounds in more than 17 minutes of action. Balanza only played a couple of minutes while Salado sat down the game.
“We still expect more from Arvin Tolentino, we expect more from Jerrick Balanza. These are guys we think can help us. Kent Salado did not play today, but he will also have some time. “ Cone said.
“Those rookies of ours, we have a lot of faith in them. And we proved it by starting Arvin in the game. I’m very excited about Arvin, I think he will be a great impact player in this league.
