FORMER La Salle player Ralph Cu came through with career highs of 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists to power Barangay Ginebra to a 95-88 victory over NorthPort in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium over the weekend.

Cu, the No. 23 pick overall by Ginebra, struck hardest with six triples as the Tim Cone-mentored Kings recorded their second straight win for a 5-3 win-loss record.

The last of these six triples by Cu sparked a closing 10-3 run that sealed the win for the Kings.

“He (Cu) just kind of announced himself to the league, so I’m sure the next time out, they’ll gonna be more conscious of him,”said Cone in an interview posted at the official PBA website.

“Triple double, I mean these are huge numbers for anybody.”

..Christian Standhardinger, Jamie Malonzo, Maverick Ahanmisi and Scottie Thompson also played well for the Kings, who climbed to third place.

Standhardinger finished with 25 points, 17 rebounds and five assists; Malonzo added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists; Ahanmisi had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists; and Thompson had 10 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals for Ginebra.

Arvin Tolentino paced NorthPort with 19 points and nine rebounds, followed by William Navarro, and Joshua Munzon with 12 points each and Allyn Bulanadi with 11.

The Batang Pier dropped to 4-3 after absorbing their second straight setback.

Earlier, Magnolia Chicken Timplados used a strong second half to turn back Phoenix Super LPG, 107-93.

.With Mark Barroca and Ian Sangalang leading the way, the Hotshots outscored the Fuel Masters, 60-36, in the second half to secure their second straight win and 3-2 win-loss record overall.

Barroca finished with 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field, and four assists in 32 minutes of action while Sangalang added 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists for coach Chito Victolero.

Jio Jalalon contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Joseph Eriobu chipped in 11 points.

“We had a serious talk at halftime. We allowed them to score 39 points in the second quarter and that’s not us. I think that’s the worst defensive quarter for us,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, noting the 39 points were the most given up in a quarter by Magnolia since allowing TNT to score 40 in the opening frame of their 2021 Philippine Cup finals.their second straight setback.

The scores:

Ginebra (95) — Standhardinger 25, Cu 24, Malonzo 14, Ahanmisi 13, Thompson 10, J.Aguilar 4, David 3, Pringle 2, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, Onwubere 0.
NorthPort (88) — Tolentino 19, Munzon 12, Navarro 12, Bulanadi 11, Yu 8, Amores 7, Zamar 6, Calma 4, Lucero 4, Cuntapay 3, Flores 2, Rosales 0, Paraiso 0.
Quarterscores: 30-21, 43-53, 73-70, 95-88.

Games Wednesday:

(Ninoy Aquino Stadium)
4:30 p.m.– Rain or Shine vs. NorthPort
7:30 p.m.– Magnolia vs. Blackwater