Justin Brownlee fueled the third-quarter breakaway as Ginebra took down San Miguel, 122-105, to seize the early lead in their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup semifinal series, Wednesday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The three-time Best Import finished with 33 points, including 20 in the period that saw him nail a trio of four-pointers to power the Kings’ 34-point surge for a 97-78 lead entering the fourth — that, after owning a slim 63-58 edge at the half.
He first nailed two triples to lead his side’s 8-2 run for a 71-60 advantage early in the third, but it wasn’t until his first quadruple of the chapter that momentum shifted in their favor for good as it pushed their lead to 79-65 with 7:38 to go.
Brownlee would end the game with a 5-of-6 clip from 27 feet out, setting a single-game record for most fours by a player in a showing that also saw him shoot 3-of-5 from the first arc and collect eight rebounds plus five assists.
“Since the four-point line was introduced to the PBA, it’s something that the teams in this league have taken advantage of. Me, myself, and Ginebra, we practice those shots,” said the six-time league champion.
Stephen Holt was instrumental in the victory as well, finishing with 30 points, eight rebounds, and four assists in his PBA semis debut.
Rookie RJ Abarrientos delivered 13 points on 3-of-6 shooting from three, making all of those in the first half–including 11 in the second chapter alone.
Former league MVP Scottie Thompson had a double-double with 10 points and 10 assists, which he laced with six rebounds as four players finished in double figures for a Ginebra side that took on an exhausted Beermen.
SMB is coming off a busy schedule last week, where it played in the East Asia Super League opener last Wednesday before outlasting a pesky Converge in the deciding Game 5 of their quarters matchup last Sunday in Antipolo.
That, however, is the least of Ginebra’s concerns, with the crowd darlings out to use as much to their advantage — most especially with so much at stake.
“I know we would–we’d be dying at this point. And it’s really hard for them to prepare and practice because they’re tired,” offered the champion mentor.
“But honestly, we’re not gonna feel sorry for them. It’s not our job to feel sorry for them. We’re gonna take advantage of every little thing that we can, and that’s the way [it is] … they’re just too good to feel sorry for,” he added with a smile.
Evidence of the Beermen’s fatigue was seen in June Mar Fajardo, who was far from the form that delivered a 40-point, 24-rebound performance last Sunday. He was held to just 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, though he still grabbed 16 rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Top-scoring for San Miguel was EJ Anosike with 27 points and eight rebounds. Marcio Lassiter gave 18 points on two treys, while CJ Perez added 13 in the loss, where SMB trailed by as many as 24 points, 102-78.
Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is set on Friday, October 10, 7:30 p.m. at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, with Ginebra keen on building a 2-0 lead.
The Scores:
Ginebra 122 – Brownlee 33, Holt 30, Abarrientos 13, Thompson 10, Ahanmisi 9, J.Aguilar 9, Pinto 9, Devance 8, Adamos 1, Cu 0.
San Miguel 105 – Anosike 27, Lassiter 18, Fajardo 16, Perez 13, Ross 7, Rosales 6, Romeo 6, Enciso 6, Cruz 4, Tautuaa 2, Nava 0, Brondial 0.
Quarterscores: 27-28, 63-58, 97-78, 122-105.
