The Numbers Behind the Win: Ginebra Gets Crucial Win against TNT

(Photo by the PBA Media Bureau)

The Gin Kings lean on Tenorio and their Twin Towers as TNT suffers loss without Troy Rosario.

He may be the smallest guy on his team, probably the smallest player in the league right now but, never ever let LA Tenorio's height trick you because despite him being a pint-sized point guard, he can do a lot of things. He has achieved a lot of things. He is a 2-time Governors' Cup Finals MVP among other things. And yes, he is still among the PBA's elite point guards of today.

Heading into the game between two of the best point guards today, LA Tenorio versus Jayson Castro of the Talk N Text KaTropa, it was Tenorio who had the upper hand this time around as he lifted the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings to a 93-78 victory over the eighth-seeded KaTropa squad who played without star forward Troy Rosario who had a nasty fall in their previous game. Their win enabled the  Gin Kings to improve to 5-4 in the conference while the KaTropa fell to 4-5.

Despite missing Joe Devance and three other key players who are nursing respective injuries, the Gin Kings were dominant in this game and below are the numbers to explain how good they were against TNT:

Defense on Castro and Pogoy Clicked

Without Troy Rosario, Talk N Text knew that they had to rely on RR Pogoy and Jayson Castro. Sure, Castro led the way for Nash Racela's boys with 17 points but Ginebra's defense made him bleed for every point as he went 6 for 20 from the field, 5 for 16 from the two-point area and 1 for 4 from the three-point line. Pogoy, on the other hand, had 16 points on 7 for 17 field goal shooting. 

Tenorio's 27 BIG Points

Once the KaTropa saw Tinyente hit 3 three-pointers in the first quarter alone, they knew it would be a difficult night for them and another big game for Tenorio. At the final buzzer, LA Tenorio had 27 points on 11 for 19 field goal shooting. He also had 5 rebounds and 11 assists while playing for 38 minutes for Coach Tim Cone. Just how old is Tenorio again?

GregZilla + Japeth= Unstoppable

Next to the San Miguel Beermen, the Gin Kings have the second-best frontline in the league thanks to their mighty Twin Towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar. Against TNT, the dynamic duo pounded on Rosario's absence as Greg Slaughter scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Aguilar had 25 points and 6 rebounds. Imagine if Joe Devance was around. The damage would have been worse, right? 

Conclusion

With the quotient system kicking in, it's important that Ginebra wins both of their final games in the elimination round of the PBA Philippine Cup- one being against the  Meralco Bolts. Tim Cone said that their main goal, for now, is to make it to the Top 6. They can keep their current state but if they win both games and the teams above them lose theirs, Ginebra might be able to make a climb.