WATCH: Best Payer of the Game – Scottie Thompson [Brgy. Ginebra vs Converge]

Brgy. Ginebra registered its first win under interim coach Richard del Rosario after walloping Converge, 105-89, Friday night in the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The 51-year old del Rosario called the shots for the crowd darlings as head coach Tim Cone is currently in the US to serve as guest assistant coach for the Miami Heat’s summer league team.

Reigning MVP Scottie Thompson presided over the Gin Kings’ offense and dropped a game-high 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. He also had 6 rebounds and the same number of assists in almost 42 minutes of action.

The victory is Brgy. Ginebra’s 5th against a solitary loss which is good for a share of top spot in the team standings with idle San Miguel.

“Converge coming off a tough loss, and kami naman coming off a big win against the same team (San Miguel) so we didn’t want to fall into that trap na we’ll take this team lightly,” said Del Rosario during the post-game press conference.

“I think the players are veterans and they have championship experience, they know that these are the games that are important. Hindi namin pwede pakawalan. I’m just happy that the players responded,” he added.

Japeth Aguilar backstopped Thompson with 20 points to go with 11 rebounds and 4 rejections while Christian Standhadinger, like Aguilar, also finished with a solid double-double of 13 markers and 13 boards. Stanley Pringle chipped in 11 points while the trio of LA Tenorio, Arvin Tolentino and Prince Caperal contributed 9 markers each.

The Gin Kings’ next assignment is Terrafirma with the match scheduled on Wednesday, July 6, 6:00pm at the same venue.