The sequel is about to happen
Justin Brownlee and the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel came from behind and turned back a Glen Rice, Jr.-less TNT Katropa in Game Four, 115-105, to book the last slot of the 2017 Governor’s Cup Finals, Sunday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
With the victory, a Finals rematch between the Barangay and the Meralco Bolts will take place. The best-of-seven series will commence on Friday, October 13, 7:00 PM at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena, Quezon.
“We were fortunate that Glen Rice went out,” said Gin Kings coach Tim Cone about Rice, Jr., who had been ejected from the match in the firat quarter. “But it was still a great game; they were making shots. It was quite a frustrating first half.”
“But our guys came collected in the second half and started playing like we do,” added the multi-titled mentor.
Brownlee was nothing but superb in the match, firing away 46 huge points — including 16 in the third frame where he lifted Ginebra from 18 points down — on top of 10 rebounds and five assists. LA Tenorio supplied 25 points and seven assists.
From a 94-all tie with 7:22 to go in the final period, the Barangay unleashed 10 straight points — capped by Tenorio’s top-of-the-key triple off a Brownlee feed — to have their first taste of a comfortable lead, 104-94, with 4:07 remaining.
TNT could not find any answers thereafter, as they went on a cold streak. As a result, Ginebra feasted on the other end, and Greg Slaughter’s three-point play, 112-100, with 1:45 left was more than enough to secure the win.
Slaughter supplied 21 points and nine boards, while Sol Mercado chipped in 11 off the bench for the Barangay, who shot a blistering 51 percent from the floor, highlighted by the 12 shots they knocked down from beyond the arc.
Troy Rosario led the Texters with 28 points and 10 rebounds in 40 minutes, while Jayson Castro scattered 26 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists. Roger Pogoy and Anthony Semerad scored 14 and 12, respectively.
The Katropa shot just 40 of all the 99 shots they took, going a sour 2-of-20 in the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter. But despite that, they edged Ginebra in rebounds, 51-48, and forced them to 17 turnovers.
The Scores:
Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 46, Tenorio 25, Slaughter 21, Mercado 11, Aguilar 6, Ferrer 4, Caguioa 2, Thompson 0, Devance 0.
TNT 105 – Rosario 28, Castro 26, Pogoy 14, Semerad 12, Williams 10, Tautuaa 9, Reyes 4, Rice Jr. 2, Golla 0, Carey 0, Nuyles 0, Hernandez 0, Seigle 0.
Quarterscores: 32-41, 52-66, 80-86, 115-105.
