NO Justin Brownlee, no problem for Barangay Ginebra.

With Tony Bishop taking Brownlee’s place and Christian Standhardinger making his presence felt, Ginebra opened its campaign in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup with an emphatic 100-86 victory over Converge FiberXers at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Bishop, a finalist in his inaugural PBA stint with Meralco Bolts during the 2021 Governors Cup, showcased his skills with 34 points on 12-of-25 shooting, 12 rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks in 43 minutes of play under coach Tim Cone.

Standhardinger added 25 points 16 rebounds and five assists in the Gin Kings’ winning start.

“We did worry we’re not as sharp as Converge as we’re playing our first game while they had a couples of games under their belt. We didn’t know what to expect of ourselves,”said Cone after the Gin Kings’ first game with Brownlee in a long, long while.

“They shot the ball well and we had a hard time keeping up with them. But we did find our legs and got to go,”added the multi-titled Ginebra coach.

It was not all Bishop and Standhardinger for Ginebra, however.

Scottie Thompson also played well with 13 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals, Japeth Aguilar added 11 points and 10 rebounds, Stanley Pringle chipped in eight points, and Maverick Ahanmisi added seven points and six rebounds against his former team.

Despite facing a nine-point deficit, 41-50, the Gin Kings orchestrated a 13-2 run in the last five minutes of the second quarter to take control with a two-point lead at halftime, 54-52.

The Gin Kings further solidified their dominance, extending the lead to 13 points by the end of the third quarter, 80-67, and achieving their largest advantage with a 16-point lead, 86-70.

In a losing effort, Justin Arana led the Converge team with 20 points on 10-of-16 shooting, on top of eight rebounds in 26 minutes of play under coach Aldin Ayo.

The FiberXers, now at 0-3 in the standings, also received contributions from import Thomas Vodanovich, who tallied 13 points (6-of-13 shooting), six rebounds, and four assists, and Jerrick Balanza, adding 13 points and seven rebounds.

The scores:

Ginebra (100) – Bishop 34, Standhardinger 25, Thompson 13, J.Aguilar 11, Pringle 8, Ahanmisi 7, Pinto 2, Pessumal 0, Cu 0, Gumaru 0.
Converge (86) – Arana 20, Vodanovich 13, Balanza 13, Zaldivar 9, Nieto 7, Melecio 7, Stockton 6, Winston 5, Caralipio 3, Racal 3, Wong 0, Fornilos 0, Maagdenberg 0, Tallo 0.
Quarterscores: 25-30, 54-52, 80-67, 100-86.