<\/figcaption>\r<\/figure>\r\r
The Gin Kings surged into solo fourth spot in the standings following their masterful 93-81 dismantling of the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday for a 5-2 record.<\/p>\r\r
They hope to sustain their winning run against the well-rested Batang Pier (6-1), whom they face at 7:30 p.m.<\/p>\r\r
The opening game at 5 p.m features streaking Rain or Shine (4-1) and Blackwater (1-5).<\/p>\r\r
The Batang Pier headed to the holiday break with a 120-113 win against Eastern on Dec. 20, underscoring their seriousness in winning the franchise's first PBA title.<\/p>\r\r
The team's only blemish was a 115-109 shock loss to lowly Phoenix on Dec. 17.<\/p>\r\r
\"We spoke about that side regarding the long break. And I told the team they're all professionals. So their conditioning should still be there and their timing to continue the good run,\" said NorthPort coach Bonnie Tan.<\/p>\r\r
For Ginebra coach Tim Cone, he knows very well that NorthPort is another big assignment considering its size and how good the team has played thus far.<\/p>\r\r
\"NorthPort is a completely different animal. They play completely different, and they are much more rounded in terms of size,\" Cone observed, noting import Kadeem Jack, Arvin Tolentino, William Navarro and Sidney Onwubere.<\/p>\r\r
\"They switch a lot on defense so we had to spend a lot of time delving on the video and figure out how to win.\"<\/p>\r\r
As for Rain or Shine, the team ended 2024 by winning its last four games.<\/p>\r\r
The team's lone loss happened in its first game when it suffered a 121-111 defeat to Meralco.<\/p>\r\r
The Elasto Painters have been getting a lot from their locals led by Adrian Nocum, Leonard Santillan, Andrei Caracut, Caelan Tiongson and Keith Datu who are all averaging 10 or more points this conference.<\/p>\r\r
Deon Thompson leads ROS with 20 points, 11.7 points, 2.7 assists and 2.2 blocks.<\/p>\r\r
Blackwater will again be led by high-scoring import George King, who leads the league in scoring with 37.17 points per contest, along with 10 rebounds.<\/p>\r\r
The sweet-shooting American also owns a 37 percent marksmanship from the four-point zone.<\/p>\r\r
* * *<\/p>\r\r
STANDINGS: <\/strong><\/span>NorthPort 6-1, Converge 6-2, Eastern 6-3, Ginebra 5-2, ROS 4-1, Meralco 4-2, SMB 3-3, NLEX 3-4, TNT 2-2, Magnolia 2-5, Phoenix 1-5, Blackwater 1-5, Terrafirma 0-7<\/em><\/p>","article_custom_fields":"{\"\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_keywords\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_description\":[\"\"],\"seo_meta_title\":[\"\"],\"sponsored_flag\":[\"\"],\"offer_flag\":[\"off\"],\"featured_article_flag\":[\"\"],\"drupal_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":null,\\\"properties\\\":{\\\"PUBLISHED\\\":0,\\\"PROMOTED\\\":0,\\\"STICKY\\\":0},\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"wp_custom_json\":[\"{\\\"type\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"fields\\\":[]}\"],\"article_tags\":[\"\"],\"show_image\":[\"off\"],\"Disable_Ad\":[\"off\"],\"disable_player\":[\"off\"],\"column\":[\"\"],\"kicker\":[\"\"],\"edel\":[\"\"],\"delu\":[\"\"],\"delt\":[\"Read this in The Manila Times digital edition.\"],\"premium\":[\"off\"],\"Redirect_URL\":[\"\"],\"Registration_required\":[\"off\"],\"background_image\":[\"off\"],\"user_needs\":[\"\"],\"page_number\":\"0\",\"initial_publication\":\"\",\"date_created\":\"2025-01-07 19:35:19\",\"date_modified\":\"2025-01-08 00:26:01\",\"last_modified_user\":\"Sherwin Arnaiz\",\"section_color\":\"#08F304\",\"target_page\":\"0\",\"cxense_metatags\":null}","cms_type":"live","author_id":2616,"section_id":3,"seo_meta_keywords":"Ginebra,battles,league-leader,NorthPort","seo_meta_description":"","seo_meta_title":"Ginebra battles league-leader NorthPort","publish_time":"2025-01-08 00:12:00","related_articles_ids":"","article_tags":"","sub_section_id":0,"visit_count":50,"sponsored_flag":0,"offer_flag":0,"featured_article_flag":0,"media_gallery_flag":0,"video_gallery_flag":0,"highlight_flag":0,"top_story_flag":0,"is_updated":0,"is_old_article":0,"old_article_id":0,"article_byline":"Richard Dy","ts":"2025-01-12 22:00:04","last_edited":"2025-01-08 00:26:01","alt_publish_time":"2025-01-07 19:45:12","image_path":"{\\\"image_path\\\":\\\"manilatimes\\\\\/uploads\\\\\/images\\\\\/2025\\\\\/01\\\\\/07\\\\\/507860.jpg\\\",\\\"cms_type\\\":\\\"live\\\",\\\"small_image\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"is_updated\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_cropping\\\":\\\"{\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_original_width\\\\\\\":3000,\\\\\\\"image_original_height\\\\\\\":2000,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"original_image\\\\\\\"},\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\":{\\\\\\\"image_main_width\\\\\\\":1200,\\\\\\\"image_main_height\\\\\\\":800,\\\\\\\"icd_image_type\\\\\\\":\\\\\\\"main_image\\\\\\\"}}\\\",\\\"is_copied\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"media_type\\\":\\\"0\\\",\\\"image_caption\\\":\\\"CLASH OF TITANS Ginebra\\\\u2019s Stephen Holt and Magnolia\\\\u2019s Paul Lee battle for ball possession during the PBA Commissioner\\\\u2019s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Dec. 25, 2024. PHOTO BY RIO DELUVIO\\\",\\\"image_alt_text\\\":\\\"\\\",\\\"image_count\\\":1}","author_name":"Richard Dy","section_name":"Sports","sub_section_name":"","slide_show":0,"breaking_news":0,"visit_count_update_date":"2025-01-12 22:00:04","old_cms_article_id":null,"permalink":"2025\/01\/08\/sports\/ginebra-battles-league-leader-northport\/2032250","show_image_in_thumb":0,"api_status":2,"a_custom_data":"{\"exclude_from_gallery\":null,\"lead_image_id\":null}","publication_id":2,"max_publish_time":"2025-01-08 00:12:00","page_number":"","homepage_article_flag":0,"article_shortlink":null,"cropped_image":0};
Ginebra battles league-leader NorthPort
BARANGAY Ginebra eyes a fourth straight win when it tangles with league-leader NorthPort in the main game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The Gin Kings surged into solo fourth spot in the standings following their masterful 93-81 dismantling of the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday for a 5-2 record.
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