Brownlee waxes hot, pulls Ginebra to semis

Justin Brownlee scorched from rainbow country to lift Ginebra to a 96-85 victory over GlobalPort and secure a semifinal seat in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Tuesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The 6-foot-5 reinforcement went bonkers from beyond the arc, going 7-of-11, three of which coming in the third quarter breakaway to finish with 39 points, nine rebounds, and four assists and seal the Gin Kings’ fate in the next level.

With GlobalPort threatening to close in, 56-50, with 6:18 to play in the third period, Brownlee ignited Ginebra’s three-point barrage as they went on a 20-1 tear to bring the lead back up to 25, 76-51, with 1:19 remaining in the quarter.

Despite his import’s huge scoring outburst, coach Tim Cone felt that it was Japeth Aguilar’s defense which made the biggest difference in Ginebra’s quarterfinal victory.

“I think the game turned when Japeth began dominating the paint in the third quarter. He blocked shots, he changed shots, and I thought that really made the difference for the game. And when Justin is knocking down his shots, that helps a lot. But I thought the defense of Japeth was the key on what we needed in this game,” he said.

Aguilar added 21 markers, eight boards, three assists, and two blocks in the win, as the Gin Kings frustrated GlobalPort to shoot on a paltry 35-percent clip from the field.

“I thought we defended really well tonight, especially with Stanley (Pringle). He’s an explosive player and he looked a little worn out tonight,” said Cone. “We challenged (Terrence) Romeo to beat our bigs and for moments, he certainly did make big shots and tough shots, but we just kept the defense on him and didn’t let him use his ball screens.”

LA Tenorio also got 12 points, eight dimes, and three rebounds, and Scottie Thompson had 11 markers, 12 boards, and three assists for the Gin Kings.

Things got heated with 3:28 left in the game as Terrence Romeo whipped his right arm to Tenorio’s waist, leading to an ejection for the Batang Pier super scorer.

Justin Harper got 29 points but needed 32 shots to reach the mark, while also grabbing 15 rebounds for GlobalPort.

Romeo wound up with 22 markers on a 7-of-21 shooting, while Pringle was held to just 16 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

Ginebra now await for the victor of the TNT-Meralco series for its date in the best-of-five semifinals series.