The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings got a huge lift from their local crew to score a dominant 119-91 victory over the NLEX Road Warriors in the PBA Governors’ Cup on Tuesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Stephen Holt had his best game in a Gin Kings uniform, finishing with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Maverick Ahanmisi contributed a season-high of 20 markers as the Gin Kings improved to a 2-2 win-loss slate.
Rhon Jhay Abarrientos and Earl Scottie Thompson chipped in 19 markers apiece, and Japeth Aguilar and Justin Brownlee contributed 13 apiece in limited minutes for the Gin Kings.
Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone expressed delight to be able to get huge contributions from his local crew, and they were also able to take advantage of a tired Road Warriors squad.
“Well, I think we really played a good tempo tonight; I thought other guys outside of Justin stepped up and quite aggressively looked for their shots, and that took off the pressure from Justin,” Cone said.
“But, on the other end, I will be honest that (NLEX) looked a little tired coming from an out-of-town (game) and we were able to take advantage of it. Stephen got us to a really good start, and that set the tempo for this game,” he added.
Robert Bolick Jr. finished with 19 points, Myke Henry added 16 markers, while Dominick Fajardo, Robbie Herndon, and Jhan McHale Nermal ended with 14, 13, and 10, respectively, as the Road Warriors dropped to a 3-2 record.