PBA: Monfort stars anew as Barako blasts Ginebra

The smallest man on the court stood the tallest as Emman Monfort carried the Barako Bull Energy Cola to a 104-91 win over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup.

The win allowed Barako Bull to tie the Petron Blaze Boosters at the top of the standings with a 3-1 card. Ginebra on the other hand fell to 1-2, tied with the San Mig Coffee Mixers and the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters.

Monfort, who was drafted 16th overall, scored 25 points with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals, but more than the numbers, his poise as a point guard was the key for Barako Bull.

“Emman played one of the best games a point guard can play,” said Barako Bull consultant Rajko Toroman. “He’s really a big part of our team.”

Michael Singletary top-scored for the winning team with 38 points, shooting 12-o-26 from the field, while filling out the rest of the stat sheet with 17 rebounds, four assists, two blocks, and two steals.

Aside from Monfort and Singletary, Ronjay Buenafe and veteran Danny Seigle also played good games, scoring 15 and 10, respectively. Another rookie, Dave Marcelo, also made a good account of himself with five points, two boards, and two blocks in only ten minutes on the court.

“It was a great game for Barako Bull. We needed to stop [Mark] Caguioa, [LA] Tenorio, and their import; we did a good job,” Toroman added.

Dior Lowhorn scored 30 points for Ginebra while Caguioa added 13. Tenorio struggled all game long as he shot just 1-of-10 from the field for only four points.

The two teams stayed neck and neck in the early part of the first quarter. A triple from Monfort at the 4:48 mark finally gave Barako Bull some breathing room at 16-12.

Japeth Aguilar went in for a dunk at the 4:01 mark of the first but the Gilas Pilipinas big man landed awkwardly on his right leg. He fell face down on the floor clutching his knee, but he picked himself up and managed a split at the line before he walked into the dugout.

Monfort added to his tally with a floater that brought his side's lead up to five points at 20-15. Barako got their lead up to seven points, but Mac Baracael nailed a buzzer-beating three to end the first with Ginebra down by only four points at 26-22.

Billy Mamaril made three early baskets in the second quarter to cut the Barako lead down to three at 31-29 at the 9:10 mark. Willy Wilson joined Mamaril's second quarter party to tie the game at 33-all. After completing a stop, Baracael gave Ginebra the lead with a triple.

It didn't last though as Barako fought back. Monfort made a three at the 2:48 mark of the second to put his team ahead, 45-38, then Singletary closed the half with a running one-hander for a 50-42 count in favor of Barako heading into the halftime break.

The two teams shot at almost the same percentage at the half with Barako shooting 43.2 percent and Ginebra at 42.9 percent. Barako held the lead as they out-rebounded Ginebra 29-24, leading to more shot attempts.

Singletary led all scorers at the half with 19 points, while his Ginebra counterpart, Dior Lowhorn, registered 12. No locals scored in double-digits after the first 24 minutes with Monfort, Buenafe, Baracael, and Billy Mamaril all managing eight points for their respective teams.

Barako Bull started the third quarter wanting to blow the game wide open. A Monfort fast break layup was quickly followed by five straight points from Singletary for a 57-43 advantage for Barako at the 10:08 mark. Monfort then added another triple to extend their lead to 17.

Ginebra chipped away at Barako' lead from the free throw line. A pair of charities from Lowhorn at the 4:59 mark got them to within 12 at 69-57.

Another Monfort triple at the 2:20 mark extended Barako' lead to 16 at 79-63. After LA Tenorio finally got on the scoreboard, Monfort replied with two free throws, followed by a Dave Marcelo basket for a 19-point lead.

Barako Bull led 85-67 heading into the fourth quarter.

A Wilson basket at the 9:07 mark of the fourth trimmed the Barako lead to 12 at 87-75. Sensing that it was their team's best shot at a comeback, Barangay Ginebra came alive.

Ginebra got the lead down to just seven points, before Buenafe finally stopped the bleeding with an inside two for an 89-80 count at the 5:57 mark of the fourth. Monfort then added another triple to bring their lead back up to a dozen. The Pocket Rocket followed that up by leaking out for a wide-open layup and a 94-80 advantage for Barako Bull.

“Enrico [Villanueva] is still not ready to play and Jonas [Villanueva] is also injured but we showed from the pre-season that we are a very competitive team,” Toroman said.

Ginebra actually shot better than Barako from the field as they made 42 percent of their shots compared to Barako’s 40.4 percent clip. The big difference was that Barako got more possessions as they out-hustled Ginebra 19-12 on the offensive glass. Barako also got more steals with nine against only one for Ginebra. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:  

Barako 104 - Singletary 38, Monfort 25, Buenafe 15, Seigle 10, Marcelo 5, Cruz 3, Pena 3, Intal 2, Pennisi 2, Macapagal 1, Jensen 0.

Ginebra 91 - Lowhorn 30, Mamaril 14, Caguioa 13, Baracael 11, Wilson 7, Tenorio 4, Helterbrand 4, Urbiztondo 3, Ellis 2, Labagala 2, Aguilar 1, Ababou 0, Maierhofer 0.

Quarters: 26-22, 50-42, 85-67, 104-91