Ginebra survives depleted Meralco to snap skid

Barangay Ginebra returned to the win column after defeating an injury-hit Meralco side, 84-75, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors' Cup on Friday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Gin Kings took advantage of Meralco's missing key players, building an early cushion in the second quarter before holding off the Bolts' late comeback attempts to improve to 2-2 in Group B.

The victory gave Ginebra momentum heading into Sunday's Manila Clasico showdown against Magnolia at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

"It’s an ugly win, but we'll take it. We had to defend as best we could, grind it out. That's what we did today—really grind it out," said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. "We had to rely on our best players to create, and they did, enough to create points tonight."

RJ Abarrientos led the way for the Gin Kings with a conference-best 27 points as Ginebra continued to adjust without injured stars Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson.

Import Riley Grigsby added 25 points and nine rebounds, while Stephen Holt and Troy Rosario combined for 15 points and 15 rebounds.

"Malalaking pieces ang nawala sa amin… Pero buo pa rin naman kami, basta kung sino ang ipasok, kailangan mag-step up," Abarrientos said.

Meralco entered the game without Bong Quinto, CJ Cansino, Jason Brickman, and Raymond Almazan due to injuries and illness.

Despite the absences, Antonio Hester kept the Bolts competitive with 24 points and 18 rebounds. Chris Banchero contributed 15 points, three rebounds, and five assists while battling through a lower back injury suffered in the first half.

The loss dropped Meralco to 2-3 in Group B and marked its second straight defeat. The Bolts will try to bounce back against Rain or Shine on Sunday.