Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Talk about a change of fortune.
A couple of nights after Meralco bullied Ginebra, it was the Gin Kings turn to impose their will on the Bolts in Game 2, beating them to the much-important hustle points as their import Justin Brownlee put it.
Ginebra evened the best-of-seven series of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at 1-1 on Sunday and Brownlee said they had to be aggressive in all aspects of the game if they would get any chance of taking one home.
“We knew we just had to be aggressive in every aspect, not only just offense, not only just defense. Hustle, offensive rebounds,” he said.
Ginebra had a slim 49-45 rebounding edge over Meralco, 15-11 in the offensive glass, but the Gin Kings made good use of those extra possessions.
Brownlee and company had 21 second-chance points, 19 more than the Bolts.
Meralco’s 16 turnovers were also prime scoring chances for the Gin Kings as they turned those miscues to 20 points.
Game 1 was just horrible for the Gin Kings as the Bolts shocked and outworked them with 27 second-chance points as compared to just seven for Ginebra.
“Last game they beat us to a lot of hustle plays so we knew we had to be aggressive to each and every aspect. Tonight, I think we showed that we were the aggressor.”
Brownlee also bounced back from a subpar Game 1 outing and outplayed his counterpart Allen Durham. He wound up with 32 points and 12 rebounds on the night he finished second to Durham for the Best Import award.
“No, that (losing the award) wasn’t a motivation. I’ve always been motivated, first to just go out there and try to win this series and try to win a championship. That’s the motivation.”