Third-quarter flurry sends Ginebra past NLEX
Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Barangay Ginebra came out firing in the third quarter on its way to a 101-92 comeback win over NLEX in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at Cuneta Astrodome.
Justin Brownlee and LA Tenorio fueled the Gin Kings’ blistering run in the third period, where they outscored the Road Warriors, 42-14.
“I was pleased with the way we came out in the second half and pretty much took care of business in the third quarter and it gave everybody a chance to play in the fourth quarter,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, who was dissatisfied with how his bench players gave up a chunk of the team’s huge lead in the last few minutes of the game.
“Those guys who played in the fourth quarter, they gotta be able to play and they should’ve played much better than they did.”
The Gin Kings cruised to their third straight victory after dropping their opening game against the Phoenix Fuel Masters while sending the Road Warriors to a 0-7 record.
“NLEX is gonna win some games and we made sure it wasn’t going to be us tonight,” said Cone.
Brownlee notched 18 points and 13 rebounds with five assists to boot while Tenorio scored eight of his 13 points in the pivotal third period.
Wayne Chism had 16 points and eight rebounds for NLEX, which blew a 43-32 lead it built midway through the second quarter.
Ginebra was still trailing, 53-49, at the 10:15 mark of the third quarter before going on a tear with back-to-back triples by Tenorio and Brownlee made it, 82-59, in a just a span of eight minutes.
“When Justin gets it going, gets into a rhythm, we all seem to get into a rhythm and I also liked the way LA came out with a lot more fire in the second half and got things done.”
Veteran forwards Joe Devance and Japeth Aguilar added 18 and 17 points, respectively for Ginebra, which stretched its lead to as high as 29.
