BARANGAY Ginebra discovered the perfect formula to neutralize San Miguel Beer’s most potent weapon.
Smothering league MVP June Mar Fajardo all night, the Kings made an emphatic return to the Finals with a dominant 117-92 victory over the Beermen in Game 5 of their semifinal duel in the PBA Governors Cup.
“I’m still in a bit of shock. Well, I think Justin’s (Brownlee) incredible defense on June Mar was the key,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone after the Kings rebounded from a forgettable Game 4 debacle in front of 20,374 screaming souls at Araneta Coliseum.
Fajardo just couldn’t impose himself in the middle with Brownlee sticking to him like a leech and with pesky guards LA Tenorio and Scottie Thompson helping out each time the 6-foot-10 colossus touched the leather.
Shooting for his third straight season MVP award, Fajardo failed to light up the scoreboard as the Kings entirely denied his usual double-double output after going without a field goal on a lone attempt in almost 36 minutes on the floor.
But while Brownlee stood out defensively, it was the rookie Thompson who undoubtedly earned most of the credit on offense.
Thompson, who registered the first triple-double for a rookie in 23 years in a previous game, came out firing with a career-high 24 points on top of 15 rebounds and three assists.
“Scottie is unbelievably unselfish and we wanted him to come out and be aggressive,” said Cone. “He caught fire and it was contagious.”
Thompson reminded Cone of PBA legend Johnny Abarrientos, his former point guard when he won a Grand Slam in 1996 with Alaska.
After misfiring at the start, Thompson suddenly began knocking down his shots, and his accuracy rubbed off on Sol Mercado, LA Tenorio and Brownlee, who connived to build a 31-point cushion early in the fourth and end San Miguel’s comeback aspirations for good.
After shoving the defending champion Beermen toward the exit, the Kings face the Meralco Bolts in a best-of-seven finale starting Friday.
The Bolts ousted top seed TNT in their half of semifinals completing a turnaround from a disastrous start to the season.
“We literally came from the bottom and put ourselves in a position to compete for the championship and that part of me is really, really proud of our guys at Meralco but at the same time, the other side of me, it’s tough,” said veteran Jimmy Alapag, who used to skipper the KaTropa.
The league’s most popular ballclub is appearing in the finals for the 22nd time and gunning for its ninth championship trophy since winning the 2008 Fiesta Cup.
They figured in the finals of the 2012-2013 Philippine Cup but were easily demolished by the Alaska Aces in a sweep of their race-to-three series.
The Gin Kings seemed headed for a breeze when they built a 25-point cushion early in the second with a barrage of seven threes in the first 12 minutes courtesy of rookie Scottie Thompson and Sol Mercado.
But the Beermen refused to call it a night, bombing away with six triples of their own that highlighted a 24-0 fight-back, the third longest run in league history.
With zero field goal the entire first half, Fajardo pulled the Beermen within three on a pair of split free throws.
But Ginebra came out of the break energized and blitzed San Miguel Beer right off the bat to grease their path to victory.
The scores:
GINEBRA 117—Brownlee 26, Thompson 24, Mercado 22, Tenorio 18, Mariano 11, Devance 6, Aguilar 5, Caguioa 2, Helterbrand 2, Marcelo 1, Cruz 0, Villamor 0.
SAN MIGUEL 92—Santos 24, Millsap 18, Lassiter 11, Cabagnot 10, Heruela 9, David 7, Fajardo 7, Reyes 3, Ross 3, Arana 0, De Ocampo 0, Espinas 0, Semerad 0, Tubid 0.
Quarters: 33-12, 45-38, 81-53, 117-92