ANTIPOLO, February 10 ------ Barangay Ginebra relied on clutch shots from Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos to reach the PBA 49th Season Commissioner's Cup semifinals by outdueling Meralco, 94-87 at the packed Ynares Center. Brownlee and Abarrientos spearheaded the Gin Kings' attack in the final minutes to eliminate the Bolts in an intense Game 3 that saw Meralco active consultant Nenad Vucinic get thrown out with 5:41 left for a rant against a referee. The Gin Kings took control the rest of the way to beat the Bolts for the sixth time in seven meetings this season, wrap up the best-of-three series, 2-1, and arrange a best-of-seven semifinal series against No. 1 seed NorthPort.
Brownlee had 25 points including a three-point play with 2:58 left in the game on the sixth and final foul of Chris Newsome that got Ginebra ahead, 86-76. Prior to that Brownlee basket, Abarrientos, who finished the match with 16 points, also converted a three-pointer that came as a back-breaker for Meralco. Game One of the two semifinal series will be played on February 26 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum following the FIBA break. TNT battles Rain or Shine at 5 p.m. followed by Barangay Ginebra against NorthPort at 7:30 p.m.
The Gin Kings overcame a slow start that saw them fall behind, 32-19, midway through the second quarter only to chip away at the deficit and cut it to one, 38-37, at the half with Brownlee scoring 10 in that period. “It was a little scary there in the beginning and they really handled us well,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “I thought we were a little tight to start the basketball game. We missed easy shots that we would normally made and that allowed them to stretch their lead.” “But I felt we still played well. We were playing hard. We were playing well on defense. We weren’t making some of the shots that we should have made. I’m glad we turned it around. We just needed a spark. "Playoff Justin showed up. When we got back to one point at halftime, I think we were confident that we can win this game,” said Cone.
Newsome had 22 point before fouling out, while Bong Quinto had 16 points. Cliff Hodge had 13 points and eight rebounds in the loss. Akil Mitchell played with a bad back, shooting just 2 of 11 from the field and finishing with eight points and 12 rebounds.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 94 – Brownlee 25, Holt 17, Abarrientos 16, Rosario 12, Thompson 7, Ahanmisi 6, J. Aguilar 6, Cu 5, Malonzo 0.
Meralco 87 – Newsome 22, Quinto 16, Hodge 13, Banchero 12, Black 9, Mitchell 8, Rios 5, Almazan 2, Bates 0.
Quarters: 19-22; 37-38; 64-58; 94-87.
Source: spin.ph
Comments