With the team lacking rhythm in the first half, Justin Brownlee took it upon himself to rally Ginebra back, scoring 20 points in the third quarter to alone in a 113-96 win over the Globalport Batang Pier, Wednesday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“We won tonight but I’m not satisfied,” rued Ginebra head coach Tim Cone about the win, which sends their record to 1-1. “It just seems out that we are missing on things that we were supposed to do. We played very loose and very lackadaisical basketball.”
Brownlee bounced back from a sub-par outing in his first game, leading Ginebra with 29 points on 12-of-25 shooting spiked by four treys, along with eight rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks.
“It’s only a matter of time for him to get back. Good to see Justin break out a little bit,” lauded Cone.
The Barangay wiped out a 13-point deficit late in the first half come the third quarter, catching fire on offense en route to a 16-1 scoring spree — 11 from Brownlee — to turn things in their favor, 85-75, at the end of the period. Ginebra outscored Globalport in the frame alone, 34-17.
“We had a hard time getting our rhythm together. Somewhere in the third quarter, we were able to find it. We have not been active in our last two games until the third quarter. I was disappointed at half time because we looked slow and tentative,” said Cone on their third quarter surge.
It was then all Ginebra in the final 12 minutes. Globalport still tried to crawl back, 96-90, after a 7-0 run, but back-to-back treys by Sol Mercado and an LA Tenorio lay-up that sent Ginebra up 16, 108-92, with 2:41 left shunned their hopes.
“We need the wins and we don’t want to be in the same predicament we were last conference. These early wins are crucial for us to get our target,” added Cone regarding the victory.
Tenorio supplied 15 points, while Japeth Aguilar posted a double-double of 13 points and 11 rebounds. Mercado and Kevin Ferrer each had 13. Sophomore guard Scottie Thompson scattered 10 markers, nine boards, and six dimes.
Stanley Pringle carried the load for the now-0-4 Batang Pier with 29 points on 12-of-21 shooting and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, Romeo was limited to just 14 points, hitting just 6-of-22 from the floor. Import Sean Williams added 13 and 12.
New acquisition Dylan Ababou had a decent debut for Globalport despite the loss, scoring 17 points spiked by five triples.
Ginebra shot a notable 52 percent from the floor, and they also dominated the rebounds, 56-44. Moreover, their bench showed up better, contributing 36 points to their total output.
Ginebra will figure in a Manila Clasico bout against Star this Sunday, April 9, 6:45 PM, while Globalport will try to end their winless run versus Blackwater on Saturday, April 8, 3:00 PM. Both games will be held at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
Ginebra (113) – Brownlee 29, Tenorio 15, Aguilar 13, Ferrer 13, Mercado 13, Devance 10, Thompson 10, Marcelo 6, Caguioa 4, Cruz 0, Ellis 0.
Globalport (96) – Pringle 29, Ababou 17, Romeo 14, Williams 13, Quinahan 11, Cortez 4, Aban 3, Pessumal 3, Mamaril 2, Forrester 0, Maiferhofer 0, Pennisi 0.
Quarterscores: 23-24, 51-58, 85-75, 113-96.
