Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — With top gunner Mark Caguioa regaining his scoring punch and the twin towers of Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter as devastating as ever, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings had little trouble in nailing their second straight win and a share of the lead, drubbing the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 97-84, Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in the PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup. Caguioa led all scorers with 22 points on an impressive 9-of-12 shooting clip, bouncing back from a two-point output in Ginebra's last game against the San Mig Coffee Mixers. The 6'9” Aguilar provided ample support with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks. So did the 6'11” Slaughter who finished with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks. The two ruled the paint and made one highlight play after another to the delight of the mostly pro-Ginebra crowd. Court general LA Tenorio also played brilliantly, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, eight assists, and five steals in 36 minutes of action. The Kings started hot, racing to a 17-point lead in the first quarter. The Painters refused to back down, fighting tooth and nail until they managed to cut the lead to just a basket, 62-64, in the third quarter. Threatened, the Kings exploded with a 12-0 blast to douse cold water on Rain or Shine's ambition. Ryan Arana led the Painters with 21 points. Jeff Chan chipped in 14 while Jervy Cruz added 11. Rookie Raymond Almazan finished with nine points, nine rebounds, and two steals in just 14 minutes of play. Their first loss in three games dropped the Painters to solo fourth in the standings. Barako Bull 97, Alaska 93 The Barako Bull Energy Cola showed their first win was no fluke as they scored another emphatic upset with a 97-93 victory against the Alaska Aces in the first match of the Sunday double-header. The least favored team in the PBA thus found itself in the company of heavyweights Barangay Ginebra and Petron Blaze at the top of the standings. Alaska fell to solo seventh with a 1-2 card. Ronjay Buenafe played heroically, pouring in 27 points including key baskets in the end game. Alaska was in full control for most part of the game, leading by 15 points twice, the last one at 80-65 with 9:49 left. But the Energy Cola started waxing hot from long range, drilling seven three-pointers in a span of seven minutes. Buenafe and Mick Pennisi each scored three triples in that stretch as Barako Bull took a 91-89 lead with 2:15 left. Pennisi finished with nine points. Mark Isip, the leadings scorer in Barako Bull's last game, added 12 points. The Aces were able to tie the match at 93-all, but the Energy Cola scored the final four points for the win. Barako Bull converted 29 of 75 shots, including a sizzling 17-for-39 from three-point range. Games Wednesday: Air21 vs. Meralco and Petron Blaze vs. San Mig Coffee.
