Barangay Ginebra second-round draft selection Ralph Cu continued to make heads turn, churning out Sunday a mind-boggling near triple-double job to help the Kings past the NorthPort Batang Pier, 95-88, in a well-fought battle at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The Season 48 No. 23 draft pick from La Salle collected career highs of 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, and capped his wondrous effort with the last of his six triples in the night, touching off a 10-3 closing run that propelled the Kings to a second straight win.
Christian Standhardinger and Scottie Thompson had their own well-rounded games while Maverick Ahanmisi and Jamie Malonzo contributed double-digit outputs as the Kings jumped two rungs up to third place in the PBA Philippine Cup elims.
Ginebra improved to 5-3 while relegating NorthPort down to fourth place with a 4-3 win-loss card.
San Miguel Beer and NLEX lead the race with a 5-0 card and 5-2 slate, respectively.
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From an 85-all count, Cu rifled in a booming trey, followed by a follow-up dunk from Malonzo and a short stab from Standhardinger as the Kings finally put the game away from the fierce-fighting Batang Pier.
Standhardinger logged 25 points and 17 rebounds plus five assists while Thompson, in his second game from an injury layoff, came through with 12 boards, 10 markers and five dole-outs.
Malonzo fired 14 points while Ahanmisi rifled in 13 in the Kings' rollercoaster ride that saw them take early control, 30-21, then fall behind by 10, 43-53, at the turn.
And it was a game marked by wild momentum swings through the second half.
The Batang Pier put up a tough fight with Arvin Tolentino at the forefront of their attack with 19 points and nine rebounds.
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William Navarro, Joshua Munzon and Allyn Bulanadi added 12, 12 and 11 points, respectively. (SB)
