Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Tough. Quick. Sensational. With reigning PBA Most Valuable Player (MVP) Mark Caguioa once again at his explosive best, the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings brought down the mighty Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 107-100, in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the jam-packed Smart Araneta Coliseum. Caguioa exploded for 28 points on top of five assists and four rebounds as the Kings recorded their first back-to-back wins in the conference. Chants of “MVP! MVP!” rang loud in the coliseum packed with nearly 17,000 mostly Ginebra fans as Caguioa put on an electrifying performance on both ends of the court. The win lifted the erstwhile tail-ender Kings into a tie for seventh to ninth place in the standings with Barako Bull and Air 21, all with a 3-5 win-loss card. At last place is the GlobalPort Batang Pier (2-7). Import Vernon Macklin added 24 points and nine rebounds, while LA Tenorio chipped in with 20 markers, including three triples. Chris Ellis also shone for the Kings finishing with seven points, 12 rebounds, and three assists. The Kings went on a 6-0 run in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to boost their shaky 92-89 lead to 98-89 with 3:37 left. Macklin's two-handed dunk with 35.4 seconds left pushed Ginebra's lead to 105-98, blowing away the Texters for good. The loss snapped TNT's two-game winning streak as the Texters fell to 4-4, in a tie with idle San Mig Coffee and Meralco at fourth to sixth place in the standings. Jimmy Alapag and Donnell Harvey scored 23 points apiece for the Texters. Jayson Castro and Larry Fonacier added 16 points apiece. Ginebra head coach Alfrancis Chua could hardly contain his exuberance after the game. “We have to keep winning, but at least we're not in the cellar anymore,” said Chua. In the first game of Sunday's double-header, the Alaska Aces rebounded mightily from their upset loss to Air21 last Wednesday to whack the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 93-85. The Aces took full advantage of the mediocre debut of GlobalPort import Walter Sharpe, who finished with just two points and five rebounds, playing for just 20 minutes after fouling out with 4:23 left in the game. Alaska was ahead by as many as 16 points in the first half but the Batang Pier locals, led by Willie Miller, fought back to come to within four points, 72-76, with 8:21 left in the game. The Aces then went on a 15-4 run en route to their seventh win in nine games. Alaska thus regained solo lead of the conference, ahead of second-running Petron Blaze (6-2). The Batang Pier suffered their sixth straight defeat as they fell deeper into the pit at 2-7.
