Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings revived their patented "never-say-die" spirit, coming from 17 points down to overwhelm the Star Hotshots in the payoff period, 116-103, in a classic PBA Governors' Cup game watched by over 16,400 screaming fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum Sunday night. The Kings thus notched their sixth win in eight games to gain a share of second to third spot with the surprising Mahindra Enforcers, just a half-game behind pacesetting TNT Katropa (6-1). Ginebra also booked a quarterfinals berth with the win, with good chances of a top 2 finish to gain a twice-to-beat incentive. Ginebra will square off with Mahindra in its next game on Sept. 9. The loss was Star's sixth in seven outings, pushing the Hotshots on the brink of elimination. Import Justine Brownlee once again led the Kings with 38 points. Japeth Aguilar added 21 markers and six boards. The high-leaping power forward wowed the crowd with several smashing slam dunks in the final quarter that punctuated Ginebra's domination of Star. Sol Mercado chipped in 14 points and a game-high seven assists while LA Tenorio had 13 markers and five assists. Rookie guard Scottie Thompson finished with 10 boards on top of six points and two assists. New Star import Joel Wright debuted in the PBA with 31 points, including 14 in the first period. However, he lost steam in the final period when his team needed him the most. The Hotshots came out on fire at the start of the game, pushing their lead to as high as 17 points, 49-32, late in the second quarter. But the Kings came charging back in the third quarter as they surged into the lead and never looked back, pulling away in the final period. Alaska 107, Blackwater 87 The Alaska Aces made sure they would stay in the hunt for a playoffs berth, crushing the Blackwater Elite, 107-87. It was just Alaska's third win in eight games, putting the Aces in a tie for ninth to 10th place with the idle NLEX Road Warriors. The loss was hardly surprising for the lowly Elite who even lost four key players—import Eric Dawson, JP Erram, Mike Cortez and Reil Cervantes—to injuries. With only a single win to show after eight games, Blackwater found itself on the brink of elimination. Import LaDontae Henton paced the Aces with 33 points despite sitting out the fourth quarter with Alaska in full control of the game. The Aces led by as many as 30 points, with coach Alex Compton enjoying the luxury of fielding mostly his bench players. Thus, rookie Kevin Racal emerged as the top local scorer with 12 points with Ping Exciminiano adding 11 markers. Rookie Art dela Cruz topscored for Blackwater with 23 points while Carlo Lastimosa added 18 points, 16 of them in the final quarter. Games Wednesday: GlobalPort Batang Pier vs. TNT KaTropa and San Miguel Beermen vs. Meralco Bolts.
