MANILA, Philippines -- Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone left All-Star big man Japeth Aguilar late in their game against the Meralco Bolts on Sunday, despite having built a sizable lead.

The Gin Kings routed the Bolts, 105-91, to move to 3-0 in the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup. Aguilar played 22 minutes and was at the floor at the final buzzer, finishing with 20 points on eight of 11 shooting along with four rebounds.

• READ: Just too many weapons, as Ginebra eases past Meralco for 3-0 start

Cone explained that he opted to leave Aguilar in the game to get him more minutes, as the veteran is still trying to get himself back in shape after entering the PBA bubble late due to an injury.

"I left Japeth out there the whole time, just so to get him in shape," said Cone. "I kept telling him, he kept wanting to come out and, 'No, you're staying in there. You're staying in there. You need to run up and down, run up and down.'"

Ordinarily, Aguilar would get in shape via workouts, but that is not an option for the Gin Kings at the moment given the compressed schedule of the All-Filipino Cup. After playing Meralco on Sunday, Ginebra has two days off, then a date against Phoenix on Wednesday.

All games are being held at the Angeles University Foundation Gym in Pampanga, which is part of the league's bubble.

"Japeth has to kinda play himself in shape," said Cone. "And the only way to play himself into shape is if he plays the minutes."

"So even though we had a big margin, I wasn't taking Japeth out. And that's unusual for me, but I saw it as a purpose for him to stay on the floor and keep working," he added. "Hopefully, that will make him better into our next game, which is Phoenix."

Aguilar is not the only Ginebra player still working himself into game shape. Point guard LA Tenorio is also not yet at full fitness after undergoing an appendectomy two weeks before he entered the PBA bubble in Clark.

• READ: Ginebra coach Cone hails 'Iron Man' Tenorio for playing vs. NLEX

Tenorio played a little over 17 minutes, tallying six points and four assists. He scored all of his points in a big second quarter for Ginebra, where they broke the game open and pulled away from the Bolts.

The Ginebra coaching staff opted to pull Tenorio from the game, however, upon seeing signs of pain from their veteran floor general.

"In the second half, he was playing well but I saw him touch his stomach a couple of times, and I saw him wince in his face, so I pulled him out of the game right away," said Cone. "I think his wounds get sore over a period of time. So again that's something we have to really monitor."