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Ronald Tubid provided the spark coming off the bench in the last three minutes as Barangay Ginebra upended Purefoods, 95-87, to gain a share of early lead with Alaska Milk in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Tubid pumped in a trey then scored on a drive following his own steal, triggering a decisive 11-3 run that keyed the Kings’ second win following a triumphant debut against the San Miguel Beermen Wednesday.

Jayjay Helterbrand put in team highs of 19 points and nine assists while Willy Wilson came through with a career-best of 16 points as the Kings pulled abreast with the Aces who earlier won their first two matches in the all-Filipino tourney against the Barako Bull Energy Boosters and the Beermen.

Mark Caguioa was limited to eight points after scattering 17 points Wednesday — his return from a one-year layoff.

“Both team struggled tonight. It’s good we ran a streak at the right time,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“It’s a big back-to-back wins for us. To be honest, medyo takot ako in our first two games. We’ve got new players at dalawang malakas agad ang kalaban namin. We wanted sana na maka-adjust muna sa system namin ang mga new players namin,” Uichico also said.

“The veterans did a good job, nakalusot kami against San Miguel and Purefoods.”

The Kings take a four-day rest before facing another tough back-to-back games against Smart Gilas Friday and Alaska Sunday.

“Hopefully, we can pick up from tonight’s game, we continue to improve and get past Smart Gilas and Alaska. Pero siguradong mahirap na laban yon,” said Uichico.

The Giants, winners over the Burger King Whoppers in the season opener, provided a tough battle, fighting the Kings through 10 deadlocks and 13 lead changes.

James Yap fired 21 points, including a fastbreak layup giving Purefoods its last taste of the lead at 76-74.

The count was tied at 78-all before Billy Mamaril canned in a charity then Tubid struck with his five-point binge pushing the Kings ahead at 84-78 with 2:16 left to play.

Biboy Simon and Helterbrand traded a triple each in the ensuing plays as the Kings eventually settled the outcome of the game, getting the two-game roll after a runner-up finish in the most recent Fiesta Conference.

Enrico Villanueva started at power forward spot against his former team, coming through with 10 points, three rebounds and one assists in 25 minutes of play.

Rich Alvarez, another Purefoods player, was 0-of-2 from the field.

Eric Menk sat out the game due to a fractured small toe on left foot. (SB)

The scores:

Ginebra 95 – Helterbrand 19, Wilson 16, Tubid 14, Villanueva 10, Mamaril 9, Salvacion 9, Caguioa 8, Intal 5, Baguio 4, Cruz 1, Alvarez 0.

Purefoods 87 – Yap J. 21, Simon 16, Yap R. 13, Maierhofer 9, Artadi 8, Pingris 8, Raymundo 6, Timberlake 3, Allado 2, Reavis 1, Canaleta 0.

Quarterscores: 23-22, 38-39, 66-61, 95-87

THE CONCERN OF THE KFC-PBA PHILIPPINE CUP field is not the chemistry and consistency problems San Miguel Beer experienced in its season-opening 98-86 loss to Barangay Ginebra last Wednesday.

What is outright scary is when the Beermen iron out the rough edges of their game and unleash the true power of their talented roster.

Despite posting an early 11-point lead, San Miguel was thrown off by a second-quarter blitz engineered by the returning Mark Caguioa, Jayjay Helterbrand and Ronald Tubid.

* * *

When Ginebra plays small and hits emotional shots, it stirs its faithful fans and unfurls a volatile concoction that opponents find difficult to deal with.

Ginebra outscored San Miguel, 18-9, on the break and was sharper, 47 to 38 percent, from the field. It didn’t help at all that the Beermen couldn’t nail a trey all night, missing all 15 three-point attempts.

It was clear that there was some getting used to that the Beermen had to address.

New recruits Arwind Santos and Denok Miranda were feeling their way around. Their teammates were still getting accustomed to when they would take their shots and how they would move alongside them.

Anybody who has played hoops knows that the equation changes when somebody you’ve played against suddenly becomes your teammate.

It can be expected that this will not last very long.

* * *

Siot Tanquingcen is not unfamiliar to the role of conductor of an orchestra of virtuosos. Once everybody settles into the roles they are assigned, San Miguel should be quite a force to deal with in the tournament.

In the backcourt, they have Jonas Villanueva, Olsen Racela, Mike Cortez and Miranda and up front, there are Mick Pennisi, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Danny Seigle and Santos.

That’s not even the complete lineup and still you can make two great starting fives. San Miguel has enough interchangeable parts that will be useful when the wear and tear of a long conference kicks in.

* * *

Take nothing away from Ginebra though.

Back with its core of Caguioa, Helterbrand, Menk and Tubid for the first time in a while, the Gin Kings play with a passion that is the envy of many teams. What it lacks in size, Ginebra makes up for with spunk and emotional runs that can overhaul leads and inspire breakaways.

The return of Caguioa is an early Yuletide gift for the Ginebra legions. They would rather have The Spark playing for them than not at all. His 17-point comeback performance against San Miguel could be a sign of good tidings to come for the Barangay.

The acquaintance party is on.

The teams that shortens the getting-to-know-you part of the season will have the best shots at choice spots at the end of the classification phase.

Source: Inquirer.net