Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings celebrated the return of prized center Greg Slaughter from injury with a rousing 93-86 victory over the "giant-killer" Mahindra Enforcers in the PBA Governors' Cup Friday night. The Kings improved to a 7-2 win-loss record for a firm grip of the No. 2 spot in the standings behind tournament leader TNT KaTropa (8-1). Once at the top, Mahindra fell below San Miguel (6-3) and dropped to solo fourth place with a 6-4 mark. Import Justin Brownlee once again led the Ginebra assault with 27 points, 17 rebounds and four assists while Japeth Aguilar dished out 19 points, four rebounds and three blocks. Emerging star Scottie Thompson had a double-double 12 points and 12 rebounds. Coach Tim Cone sent in Slaughter late in the first quarter and the 7-footer immediately made his presence felt, scoring seven points in a span of under six minutes in his first game in the tournament. Import James White still led Mahindra with 23 points but struggled with his shots against Ginebra's skyscraper frontliners. NLEX 114, GlobalPort 98 The NLEX Road Warriors leaned on the explosive power of import Henry Walker and young gun Garbo Lanete to dominate the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 114-98, for their second straight victory, gaining a firmer hold on their playoff bid. The Road Warriors now have an even 5-5 win-loss card, tying idle Meralco at sixth to seventh place in the standings, with one game left in their elimination round schedule, against the embattled Alaska Aces on Sept. 16. The loss was the third straight and seventh overall against three wins for GlobalPort, pushing the team on the brink of elimination. The Batang Pier's last elimination round game is against Blackwater on Sept. 14. GlobalPort's slim chance of sneaking to the playoffs lies on a loss by Blackwater, and Alaska and Rain or Shine both losing their last two remaining games to hopefully force a multiple team-tie for the eighth and last berth in the quarterfinals. Walker banged in a team-high 35 points, including five three-pointers, plus 13 boards for NLEX. Lanete provided ample support, pouring in a career-high 25 points off the bench, right after scoring 21 points in the Road Warriors' game against Rain or Shine last Sunday. Jonas Villanueva added 14 markers while Kevin Alas chipped in with 11. Asi Taulava also had a big game, finishing with a double-double 11 points and 11 rebounds for NLEX. The Batang Pier lost despite their Big 3—Terrence Romeo, Stanley Pringle, and import Mike Glover—all scoring more than 20 points. Games Saturday: Phoenix Fuel Masters (5-4) vs. Alaska Aces (4-5) and San Miguel Beermen (6-3) vs Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (4-5).
