November 4 ------ JUSTIN Brownlee finally flashed his brilliant form on offense, scoring 34 points as Barangay Ginebra evened the PBA 49th Season Governors’ Cup Finals with a 106-92 win over TNT at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Brownlee erupted for the most points he has scored in this best-of-seven finals in front of 16,783 fans at the Big Dome on a night when he lost the Best Import award again from TNT rival Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
More importantly, the Gin Kings are back in the title hunt, reducing the series into a best-of-three after being down 0-2 to start their finals showdown. Brownlee also got plenty of help as Stephen Holt, Maverick Ahanmisi and Japeth Aguilar each had 18 points, including back-breaking shots in the end game that took the wind off the rallying Tropang Giga's sails. The 18 points were also the most Holt has scored in his first PBA Finals since joining Ginebra in a trade with Terrafirma.
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone said the little things enabled his team to gain opportunities on offense. “This is the finals, it’s going to be a tough go offensively always in the finals. Everybody wants to win so badly that it’s never just about making shots. It’s always about how much guys are going to defend and rebound and hustle. And that’s what we’ve been able to do this last two games,” said Cone. “In terms of our offense, we just kept making big shots when we needed to. We’ve been doing that pretty much all conference long. It seems like when the team started to make a run at us, somebody hits a big shot. Stephen was the one making those big shots, Maverick hit that big four, Justin had one. We’ve been fortunate that we’ve been hitting the big shots when it counts,” Cone said.
Brownlee shot 11-for-16 from the field, making 3-for-4 from threes and 2-for-4 from fours including one that got Barangay Ginebra up, 85-73, in the final seconds of the third, previously the largest lead of the game before the final score. Ahanmisi drained a four, while Holt added a three off a scramble for the ball for a 104-92 lead that ultimately sealed the victory for the Gin Kings.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson had 28 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals in 46 minutes and 57 seconds, the first time the Best Import awardee sat on the bench to close a small cut in the second quarter. Calvin Oftana had his best game of the finals, finishing with 26 points but TNT still fell short.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 106 – Brownlee 34, Ahanmisi 18, J. Aguilar 18, Holt 18, Thompson 12, Abarrientos 5, Devance 1, Tenorio 0, Cu 0, Pinto 0, R. Aguilar 0, Mariano 0.
TNT 92 – Hollis-Jefferson 28, Oftana 26, Nambatac 15, Castro 9, Pogoy 9, Erram 3, Aurin 2, Williams 0, Khobuntin 0, Heruela 0.
Quarters: 30-25; 54-42; 85-77; 106-92.
Source: spin.ph
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