MANILA: The Barangay Ginebra Kings easily defanged the Powerade Tigers, 92-80, Sunday night at the Cuneta Astrodome as they began their campaign in the season-ending PBA Governor's Cup. Backup center Yancy de Ocampo stepped up big time in the absence of three Ginebra frontliners, finishing with 18 points and 8 rebounds to lead the Kings. Ginebra now only has two big men in its roster — De Ocampo and starting center Erik Menk — following injuries suffered by Billy Mamaril and Rico Villanueva and the departure of power forward Rudy Hatfield for the United States. Ginebra import Curtis Stinson had a respectable 15-point contribution in his first game in the Philippines. John Wilson also scored 15 markers while Mark Caguioa had 13. Powerade import Chris Porter led all scorers with 38 points but failed to get enough support from his teammates. The Tigers badly missed the scoring prowess of their top gunner Gary David who is also on sickbay. Earlier, the Meralco Bolts stunned the Petron Blaze Boosters, 105-100, as unheralded Mark Isip unloaded 28 points, 10 of them in the pivotal fourth quarter. Isip shot 12-of-18 from the field and buried two crucial free throws in the final 29.9 seconds to ward off the Boosters who came from 21 points down to nearly steal the game from the Bolts. Meralco won despite the absence of three key players — ace gunner Macmac Cardona, starting point Chris Ross and veteran center Marlou Aquino. Cardona suffered a calf strain during a tuneup game and is expected to be out for at least six weeks. Ross and Aquino, meanwhile, have knee and hamstring injuries respectively. A fourth Bolt — backup guard Chris Timberlake — also did not play due to a calf strain. Import Champ Oguchi also provided offensive might for the Bolts, knocking in 26 points, including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Sol Mercado chipped in with 23 markers while Ren-Ren Ritualo added 11. The Boosters, formerly the San Miguel Beermen, continued their losing streak going back to the last Commissioner's Cup where they ended up dead
