by Ivan Stewart Saldajeno/PNA
Right on a current Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) superstar’s record-setting night, two of the league’s future greats stole the show.
In the end, however, Scottie Thompson got the last laugh over Jio Jalalon.
Thompson’s impressive all-around game got the better of Jalalon’s clutch heroics as Barangay Ginebra repulsed the Magnolia Hotshots in overtime, 97-93, in the latest edition of the “Manila Clasico” at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City on Sunday night.
Thompson had 27 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, one steal, and one block for the Barangay, who bubbled a lead as high as 15 points as Jalalon scored back-to-back triples that forced the overtime session.
However, after conceding the lead to the Hotshots early into the extension, the Barangay went on a 9-2 run to finally pull away.
Japeth Aguilar added 16 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, two blocks, and two steals for Ginebra, which moved up to 5-3.
LA Tenorio, who became the PBA’s new “Iron Man” after playing his 597th straight game, had a quiet 10 points, five rebounds, and eight assists.
Jalalon made all of his 22 points in the second half and the overtime period, while Mark Barroca made 23 markers for Magnolia, which fell to 3-5.
In the curtain-raiser, the NLEX Road Warriors sent the Blackwater Elite to the brink of elimination with a 122-101 rout.
Philip Paniamogan fired 25 points, three rebounds, nine assists, and three steals, while Poy Erram added 20 points, 10 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks for the Road Warriors, which bolstered their own bid for a quarterfinal spot after moving up to 4-5.
Allein Maliksi fired 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block for the Elite, who further slipped to 2-8.
