In time for their Philippine Cup matches at the Ynares Center in Montalban on Friday, two former College of St. Benilde players were activated by their respective PBA teams.

Phoenix signed rookie free agent JC Cullar for their game against TNT, while Blackwater added rookie Miguel Corteza to their active roster in time for a game against NLEX.

In Season 98, Corteza and Cullar, the former captain of the St. Benilde team, were teammates on the Blazers team that lost to the NCAA men’s basketball champion Letran Knights in second place.

Following Jaydee Tungcab’s placement on the injured/reserved list by the Bossing, the 27-year-old Corteza was reactivated.

Rain or Shine first selected him in the second round of the previous season’s draft at No. Corteza was traded to Blackwater for a future second-round pick at pick 20 overall.

At the moment, the Bossing have a 1-2 record.

Cullar, meanwhile, was recruited to a contract in place of guard Kent Salado and eventually made his way to the Phoenix Fuel Masters team.

The 5-foot-10 Fil-Italian guard, who was selected by Rain or Shine in the fourth round of the Season 48 draft (No. 39 overall), ironically did not sign a contract with the team.

In contrast, Salado replaced big man Larry Muyang and was placed on the injured/reserved list.

Meanwhile, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the PhilSports Arena, Barangay Ginebra furiously defeated Northport 131-106.

The Kings set the tone for the high-scoring game right away with their explosive outside shooting, hammering the Batang Pier with three-pointers.

By halftime, Ginebra had already made ten three-pointers, giving them a commanding 70-43 advantage and their second victory in three games.

In the end, the Kings made 17 of their 32 three-point attempts.

The Kings’ 104-93 loss against the San Miguel Beermen was followed by the 25-point rout.

The Kings’ three-point attack was spearheaded by rookie RJ Abarrientos, who went 6-of-7 from three-point range for a game-high 27 points. Meanwhile, recently activated Jayson David had a fantastic game, scoring 25 points on a perfect 4-of-4 three-point shooting effort.

“We really came out with a really good focus, and that’s what we’re always trying to do. Obviously, we didn’t do that against San Miguel,” after the win, coach Tim Cone stated.

Jamie Malonzo produced a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Stephen Holt contributed 17 points for Ginebra, which also collected 15 points from Troy Rosario and Japeth Aguilar.

Northport missed top scorer Arvin Tolentino’s services once again due to a hip flexor injury, and they lost for the third consecutive game, dropping to a 1-3 record.

Sidney Onwubere scored 17 points, William Navarro scored 19 points, and newly acquired Avan Nava scored 14 points on 4 of 5 field goals from three-point range, his greatest performance in a Northport shirt.

Jio Jalalon scored 11 points and dished out nine assists, putting him in double digits as well.

The Scores

Ginebra 131 – Abarrientos 27, David 25, Holt 17, J.Aguilar 15, Rosario 15, Malonzo 14, Ahanmisi 7, Cu 6, Pinto 2, Thompson 2, Mariano 1, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0.

Northport 106 – Navarro 19, Onwubere 17, Nava 14, Jalalon 11, Munzon 10, Flores 10, Taha 8, Bulanadi 8, Cuntapay 3, Kwekuteye 2, Miranda 2, Nelle 2, Yu 0.

Quarter scores: 40-24; 70-43; 95-72; 131-106.