The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings flipped the script in the second half to power themselves to a 115-108 Game One victory over the defending Governor’s Cup champions, the San Miguel Beermen, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Monday evening.
Justin Brownlee played an impressive game-long performance with a conference-high 39 points on 17-of-27 shooting from the floor and 16 rebounds. Japeth Aguilar had 22 points, and rookie Scottie Thompson played an all-around showcase of 11 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists.
San Miguel waxed hot from the floor to strike first during the game. Behind Alex Cabagnot and June Mar Fajardo’s efficient start, the Beermen quickly established a double-digit lead, 22-11, four minutes into the game.
Despite Ginebra making a bit of a headway to trim the lead, the Beermen countered via sizzling production from beyond-the-arc. Justin Brownlee was a one-man wrecking crew in his 20-point first half performance, but SMB made nine triples en route to a 57-46 halftime lead.
Japeth Aguilar heated up, notwithstanding Fajardo’s defense, to pace Ginebra’s 3rd quarter run to chop the lead down to one at 65-64 with 6 mins left. As the Beermen were forced to take poor shots from the perimeter, Ginebra took advantage and the massive momentum lifted them to take the lead entering the fourth.
A 13-4 start to the final frame behind the transition game of Scottie Thompson and Mark Caguioa provided Ginebra their biggest lead of the game at 92-80. San Miguel tried to counter behind triples from Cabagnot and Millsap, but an all-around effort from Ginebra countered SMB’s potential late-game run.
“It’s great because I certainly didn’t have confidence in the first half,” said coach Tim Cone after the come-from-behind victory. “Our guys kept battling and got themselves back in the game but this Game One win obviously does not win the series and it’s not a big deal at this point.
“Game Two is the big one and we have to match San Miguel’s intensity.”
Elijah Millsap led the Beermen offensively with a triple-double of 29 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists. Fajardo added 25 points and 15 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot finished with 20 points and six triples.
Ginebra committed less turnovers, 11 to 16, while limiting Beermen’s offensive production from inside, over which Brownlee opened up after the game.
“We just tried to play the same way. They came out early, knocking down three-pointers but we did a good job defensively in limiting their points in the paint,” said Brownlee.
Game Two of this semifinals series will be on Wednesday at 7pm, also at the Big Dome.
The Scores:
Ginebra (115) – Brownlee 39, Aguilar 22, Mercado 19, Devance 12, Thompson 11, Caguioa 8, Mariano 4, Marcelo 0, Tenorio 0, Cruz 0.
San Miguel (108) – Millsap 29, Fajardo 25, Cabagnot 20, Santos 15, Lassiter 14, Tubid 3, Espinas 2, Ross 0.
Quarterscores: 24-36, 46-57, 79-76, 115-108
