It took them 16 long months, but Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is finally back in the Big Dance.
The Gin Kings finished off the NorthPort Batang Pier in Game Four of their 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series on Friday night, to reach the Finals of the season-ending conference.
The last time the crowd darlings were in a championship bout was in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup. Back then, they won after dethroning long-time rivals San Miguel Beermen in six games.
Justin Brownlee — Ginebra’s import in its last Finals appearance — showed the way for his side in the 120-107 conquest with 36 points, 19 rebounds, and eight assists.
The former Best Import, of course, feels elated to have reached the title round once more. He also admitted that he feels “super motivated” heading into the grand stage that opens January 8.
After all, the pain of last season’s heartbreak still lingers for him and the Barangay.
The Gin Kings were then gunning for a Governors’ Cup three-peat, but Romeo Travis and Magnolia knocked them off their throne in the semis, 3-1. The Hotshots went on to win the crown.
“Super motivated. I wish we would’ve had that three-peat last year but unfortunately, we came up short,” recalled Brownlee, who has won three PBA titles so far with Ginebra.
“It feels good to be in the Finals, but this point we’re not satisfied. We wanna feel that greatest feeling. I’m just super proud of everybody, it just feels great and hopefully, we can get another one.”
Ginebra now waits for its Finals foes, which could either be TNT or Meralco. The KaTropa are leading the Bolts 2-1 in their series, and have a chance to finish it off in Game Four on Saturday.
Both teams are very familiar with the Barangay. TNT last faced Ginebra in the playoffs in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup semis, where the Terrence Jones-led KaTropa finished the series in four.
And of course, there’s Meralco, which Ginebra has faced twice in the Finals already in 2016 and in 2017. Still, on both occasions, the league’s most popular team came out on top.
“At this point, whoever we play, we know it’s going to be tough,” expressed the 31-year-old Brownlee. “Those two teams were pretty much the top teams in the league this conference.
“After that [Jayson] Castro injury, Talk ‘N Text slid a little bit. But when he’s there and they got a healthy team, they’re great,” he added, recalling Castro’s leg injury that kept him out for weeks.
“Of course, Meralco, we met them in the Finals twice already. We know if we play them, they’re gonna be great as well.”
The league heads into a two-week break for the holidays before resuming in the Finals. And for Brownlee, that is a challenge as well, for them to keep themselves focused for the said round
“It’s kinda tricky because you don’t wanna get out of shape too much. You wanna stay focused and locked in. It’s the Finals. I don’t think we’ve ever done this, having extended breaks in the semis and in the Finals. We just wanna stay focused and try not to lose the mentality that we already got right now,” Brownlee said.
“Hopefully we don’t take too many days off.”
