LISTLESS in their Manila Clasico loss to Magnolia on opening night, Barangay Ginebra made sure they brought their A-game against another old rival, TNT.
And with fire in their eyes, the Gin Kings ran away with a 92-77 win over the Tropang 5G in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup Wednesday night, Oct. 15, 2025, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The big bounce-back from their 73-80 defeat to Magnolia enabled Tim Cone’s crew to pull level at 1-1 with Chot Reyes’ squad, which failed to make it back-to-back following their previous 93-78 win over Phoenix.
“We weren’t clicking at all in that game (against Magnolia), but tonight we were clicking on all cylinders,” said Cone, whose team made the most of the 10-day break to work on improvements.
Japeth Aguilar was a tower of strength in the snapback victory, banging in a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double while still getting his form back after his off-season hand surgery.
He was complemented by Troy Rosario, who produced a 13-13; Season 49 Rookie of the Year RJ Abarrientos, who chipped in 14 points while dealing with the flu; and Scottie Thompson, who finished with 10 markers and nine assists after a scoreless outing in their opener.
Simon Enciso, who scored all of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, took the cudgels for the Tropang 5G as RR Pogoy, Calvin Oftana and Rey Nambatac struggled against Ginebra’s tight defense.
The Gin Kings return to action at 7:30 p.m. Friday night, Oct. 17, when they face the Meralco Bolts, who earlier defeated Blackwater 105-96. / PBA.PH