Ginebra buries rival TNT in breakthrough win; Meralco snaps winless begin

Ginebra, after a 10-day layoff, rides an enormous 40-16 begin to bury rival TNT, whereas balanced Meralco fends off a 34-point bomb from Blackwater star Sedrick Barefield to arrest a 0-2 begin within the 2025-2026 PBA Philippine Cup

MANILA, Philippines – Nicely-rested Barangay Ginebra stomped rival TNT down an enormous first-half gap earlier than hanging on to a 92-77 blowout breakthrough win within the 2025-2026 PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday, October 15, on the Araneta Coliseum.

Ten days after their lackluster Manila Clasico convention debut towards one other rival in Magnolia, the Gin Kings this time fired on all cylinders, led by their big-man battalion of Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario, and Norbert Torres to mount a 24-point lead, 40-16, halfway within the second quarter and by no means appeared again.

Although fearless sniper Simon Enciso tried his greatest to will TNT again within the sport as close to as down 11 within the fourth, 76-65, Aguilar and Rosario righted the ship and sparked an 11-2 breakaway to regain a 20-point cushion, 87-67, capped by Scottie Thompson free throws with 3:40 left to seal the deal.

Aguilar tied Enciso with a game-high 17 factors to go together with 10 rebounds in simply 24 minutes, whereas Enciso laced his line with a 5-of-7 clip from deep in simply 17 minutes off the bench over on the dropping aspect.

Rosario churned out a 13-point, 13-board double-double, whereas Torres tallied an ideal 4-of-4 line with 2-of-2 threes for 10 factors in 20 minutes. Thompson, in the meantime, helped six Ginebra gamers attain double figures with 10 factors, a game-high 9 assists and 5 rebounds.

Kevin Ferrer added 13 factors within the forgettable loss as TNT slid to a 1-1 slate, identical as Ginebra and 4 different squads within the 12-team league.

In the meantime, 2023-2024 Philippine Cup champion Meralco lastly hit the bottom working with a 105-96 outgunning of feisty Blackwater to snap a 0-2 begin.

Chris Newsome scored 9 of his team-high 22 factors within the pivotal fourth quarter cost to disclaim the Bossing’s comeback, on a 6-of-9 clip total and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line.

5 different Bolts scored in double digits, led by 14 factors from Cliff Hodge, to go together with 8 rebounds, 3 blocks and a pair of assists.

Rookie of the Yr runner-up Sedrick Barefield, in the meantime, led all scorers in Blackwater’s descent to a 1-1 slate with 34 factors on 12-of-21 capturing and 7-of-10 from three-point land, backstopped by 22 factors from fellow spitfire gunner RK Ilagan, who additionally went 2-of-3 from four-point vary.

The Scores

First Sport

Ginebra 92 – Aguilar 17, Abarrientos 14, Rosario 13, Thompson 10, Holt 10, Torres 10, Grey 8, Estil 5, David 3, Pinto 0, Cu 0.

TNT 77 – Enciso 17, Ferrer 11, Pogoy 9, Williams 8, Galinato 8, Khobuntin 7, Oftana 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 5, Nambatac 3, Hill 2, Heading 1, Jalalon 0, Aurin 0.

Quarters: 33-16, 45-30, 68-48, 92-77.

Second Sport

Meralco 105 – Newsome 21, Hodge 14, Bates 13, Maliksi 13, Almazan 12, Black 11, Quinto 7, Cansino 6, Jose 5, Caram 2, Pascual 0, Banchero 0.

Blackwater 96– Barefield 34, Ilagan 22, Tratter 11, David 7, Mendoza 4, Guinto 4, Jopia 4, Andrade 3, Murrell 2, Panopio 2, Escoto 0, Cruz-Dumont 0.

Quarters: 29-24, 61-39, 84-74, 105-96.

– Rappler.com