Best Player : Japeth Aguilar with 21 points and 4 rebounds #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)
The 44th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) season has officially begun after the opening at The Philippine Arena, Bulacan last Sunday, January 13 where Barangay Ginebra defeated the Talk N Text KaTropa, 90-79, during their match-up after the league’s opening ceremonies.
Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter led the way for their team, who played in front of almost 24,000 people, with Aguilar scoring 21 and Slaughter adding 15 points and seven rebounds. For the KaTropa, RG Pogo had a double-double with 21 points and 16 rebounds, while teammate Jayson Castro had double digits for both points and assists at 17 and 10 respectively. Rookie Brian Heruela debuted with 14 points after being expected to fill in the shoes of recently-released Terrence Romeo.
Ginebra head coach Tim Cone explained that “opening game is always tough because it is a long day,” explaining, “Your guys are standing around a lot and it’s hard. You can always start lethargic and we are not in great shape as we are. We’ve got real good talent, we know what we want to do, but sometimes we get tired,” however, he further stated that he is pleased with the amount of potential for the rest of the season his team showed, stating, “It was good to go out there and get that win against Talk ‘N Text. They started with four smalls, and we were concerned because we didn’t know how we’ll match up. But luckily, they didn’t shoot the three-ball as well as they usually do, and we were able to control the inside.”
The last time the two teams faced off for the opening of a season was during the 2014-2015 Philippine Cup, where again, the Ginebra Kings dominated the KaTropa with a 101-81 win.
Prior to the game, the PBA hosted the Leo Awards, where the Most Valuable Player, as well as the Mythical Teams, were acknowledged, and the opening ceremony, where all 12 teams paraded around the arena with their muses.