Justin Brownlee made history as he powered Ginebra’s 23-point decimation of Magnolia, 103-80, to move just one win away from the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The two-time Best Import finished with 38 points, 20 of which he made in the first half as he led the Kings’ second-quarter pull away towards the lopsided victory to mark a double celebration after reaching a personal milestone.
Brownlee has become just the fifth import in league history to register 5,000 career points after Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers, and Lew Massey, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
“To top it off with a win, it was great tonight,” said the 34-year-old, who also collected nine rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and two blocks.
LA Tenorio delivered 20 points on four triples in the most lopsided result of the series thus far after tight encounters in the first two matches.
Scottie Thompson added 12 points, seven rebounds, six assists, a steal, and a pair of blocks as all 13 players fielded scored at least a point in the win.
That included Nards Pinto, who played in his first game back since suffering a grade 2 ankle sprain in an elimination round face-off versus eventual quarterfinal opponent NorthPort last November 27 in the same venue.
Ginebra played against a Hotshots side that missed the services of Paul Lee practically the entire game. The star guard only played for a total of two minutes and 15 seconds reportedly due to flu-like symptoms.
That, after finishing with 24 points in Game Two last Friday, where he beat the buzzer through a leaner to give his side the 96-95 victory.
“I think Paul Lee’s [absence] took the wind out of their sails,” offered Ginebra head coach Tim Cone. “It’s hard to make in-game adjustments like that when you lose your star players. And he really has been the star.”
Leading the way for Magnolia in the loss was Jio Jalalon, who had 16 points and six assists as he stepped up in a night that saw import Nick Rakocevic get held to a conference-low 10 markers and 12 boards.
Adrian Wong and Aris Dionisio also added 10 points apiece for the Hotshots, who shot just 36-percent from the floor.
Game Four of the semis is on Wednesday, December 21, 3 p.m. at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay, with the Kings surely looking to go for the kill.
The Scores:
Ginebra 103 – Brownlee 38, Tenorio 20, Thompson 12, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 8, J.Aguilar 6, Gray 2, Pringle 2, Mariano 2, R.Aguilar 2, Pinto 0, Pessumal 0.
Magnolia 80 – Jalalon 16, Rakocevic 10, Dionsio 10, Ahanmisi 9, Abueva 8, Wong 8, Barroca 6, Corpuz 4, Mendoza 3, Sangalang 2, Laput 2, Lee 0, Dela Rosa 0, Reavis 0.
Quarterscores: 17-15, 49-34, 74-61, 103-80.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
