The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel’s rhythm would not be denied as they put an end to the NLEX Road Warriors’ four-game winning streak, 110-97, in the 2017 Governor’s Cup, Saturday at the Calasiao Sports Complex in Pangasinan.
The Gin Kings have now collected their third straight victory to improve to 3-1. The Road Warriors, meanwhile, are now 4-1.
Joe Devance led the Barangay with 23 points on 75 percent shooting, while do-it-all import Justin Brownlee provided 22 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, and four blocks. LA Tenorio fired 17 markers and seven dimes.
Exchanges of runs defined the match early on, but the Barangay kicked it up a notch come the second half. A Chris Ellis lay-up off a touchdown pass by Tenorio gave Ginebra an 86-66 lead with 1:19 left in the third canto.
The Road Warriors though tried their best to chip away the huge deficit. An 8-0 run powered by Larry Fonacier’s back-to-back triples and an Aaron Fuller put-back sent NLEX to within 14 points, 100-86, with 5:46 to go in the final quarter.
That was the team in white’s last gasp, however, as the Gin Kings replied with a 10-2 spree punctuated by a Brownlee triple from the top to restore order, 110-88 — more than enough to keep NLEX at bay until the final buzzer.
Ginebra twin towers Japeth Aguilar and Greg Slaughter each supplied 10 points and combined for 17 rebounds. Scottie Thompson scored just five, but filled up the stat sheet once more with seven boards and 11 feeds.
Fuller led the losing side with 20 points and 17 rebounds. JR Quiñahan and Fonacier had 12 and 11, respectively.
Ginebra shot 51 percent from the floor, going 10-of-19 from beyond-the-arc. And for the second straight game, they racked up 30-plus assists, as they dished the ball 32 times. NLEX’s bench though played better, 56-33.
Ginebra will look to sustain their run against Alaska on August 26, Saturday, 5:00 PM in Cebu City. NLEX, on the other hand, will try to bounce back against Meralco on August 13, Sunday, 6:45 PM at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
