Jeffers fires 38 as Ginebra routs Rain or Shine for first win

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Nothing could stop the rampage of import Othyus Jeffers, and nothing would bar Barangay Ginebra San Miguel from winning their first game over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-92, in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday, February 21 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jeffers exploded for 38 points on 15-of-24 field goals and 20 rebounds as the Gin Kings arrested a two-game skid to start the mid-season conference.

Ginebra quickly built a 17-point bubble in the second period thanks to Jeffers’ 23-point first half, and maintained double-digit leads through to the fourth quarter.

Rain or Shine trimmed the lead to single digits late in the third and fourth periods but was unable to bring down its foes as they dropped their second straight in 3 outings.

“Boy, that’s a relief,” sighed Ginebra head coach Tim Cone as he sat on the dais for post-game.

“That was a must-win, basically, I mean we just couldn’t fall behind 0-3 and we needed to win this just to our confidence up, and get confident that we can do this the way we’re trying to do it – with a small import.”

“Coming out and trying to put the responsibility on Greg (Slaughter) and Japeth (Aguilar) to play the big man role for us. They’re the one that has to compete with the other imports.”

Jeffers played through back spasms, according to Cone, but the import barely let up the toughness, energy, and character Cone needed from him as the Gin Kings came out with a sense of urgency after back-to-back tough losses.

“We could’ve played the Cavs, the Spurs, or the Warriors,” Cone quipped. “Didn’t matter who we were playing tonight – we needed a win. We needed to figure out a way to win and hats off to the guys, they did that.”

Greg Slaughter scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds while Joe Devance came off the bench for 13 markers and 5 assists.

Japeth Aguilar had 10 points and 5 rebounds as Ginebra capitalized Rain or Shine adjusting to new import Antoine Wright, who arrived from Los Angeles just this Sunday morning to replace the injured Wayne Chism.

Chism tore his hamstring on Wednesday, February 17 in a loss to Meralco.

“We’re happy we’re able to get them at this point when they were struggling a bit with their new import,” Cone said.

Though exhausted from a long-haul flight, the NBA veteran played 28 minutes and tallied 16 points and 8 rebounds as he missed all 7 of his attempts from downtown.

Leading Rain or Shine was JR Quiñahan with his 21 points and 8 rebounds, including a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Jeff Chan and Jericho Cruz added 13 and 10 points, respectively. – Rappler.com