Justin Brownlee showed the way as Barangay Ginebra withstood Meralco in another playoff battle between old foes, 99-92, to take Game 1 of their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal series on Thursday night.
The three-time Best Import finished with 29 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals as he presided over the Kings’ strong 22-14 closeout in the fourth quarter en route to gaining the head start in their best-of-5 affair.
He scored 10 of his points in the said period, reprising time and again his role as the crowd darlings’ closer to make sure that they won’t collapse completely after losing the 66-51 lead that they established midway into the third.
“It’s an interesting dynamic for us. We haven’t played Meralco this conference yet, so it’s been kind of a feeling-out process,” said Coach Tim Cone.
“Justin hasn’t been against Nenad [Vucinic] and Luigi [Trillo] before; Stephen [Holt] and RJ [Abarrientos] haven’t played against Meralco [in a playoff series]. So, it’s a feeling-out stage,” the champion mentor added.
Scottie Thompson came through with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Stephen Holt made 14 points while Japeth Aguilar added 10 for Ginebra.
Young wards Ralph Cu and RJ Abarrientos contributed significantly as well with nine and eight markers, respectively, with the both of them conniving for the crucial play that put the Barangay in the lead for the rest of the night.
Abarrientos found Cu open on the right wing for a triple and the latter didn’t waste that dime, hitting the shot for the 80–78 lead with 8:51 remaining.
It was a huge response for the Kings when the opposition managed to take the lead, 78-77, behind Chris Banchero’s conversion inside.
“They’re a tough team,” Brownlee said. “They challenge you throughout the whole game, especially on the defensive end. They throw different looks and they’re so disciplined. They keep the same pace whether they’re up or down.”
Yet as tough as the Bolts were, the perennial contenders managed to eke out the W, big thanks to ‘JB’ as he outplayed his counterpart Allen Durham.
Figuring in another rematch with Brownlee, Durham finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds as the locals took much of the scoring load for Meralco.
Season 48 Defensive Player of the Year Cliff Hodge finished with 23 points and five rebounds. Chris Newsome made 20 points, four rebounds, and six assists, while Banchero and Bong Quinto added 11 and 10, respectively.
Game 2 is on Saturday, 7:30 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Ginebra 99 – Brownlee 29, Thompson 19, Holt 14, J.Aguilar 10, Cu 9, Abarrientos 8, Ahanmisi 8, Devance 2, R. Aguilar 0.
Meralco 92 – Hodge 23, Newsome 20, Durham 17, Banchero 11, Quinto 10, Caram 6, Almazan 5, Rios 0, Mendoza 0, Bates 0, Cansino 0, Jose 0.
Quarterscores: 28-24, 53-43, 73-71, 99-92.
