Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee (right) and Meralco’s Cliff Hodge battle for possession in Sunday’s PBA main game at Smart Araneta Coliseum. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Meralco certainly didn’t like the way things ended a year ago after Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee finished their championship series with a game-winning three at the buzzer.
Eager to get back at their tormentor, the Bolts downed the Gin Kings, 93-78, on sustained grit and hustle before an unfriendly crowd at Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
In a rematch of last year’s finals of the PBA Governors Cup, Allen Durham efficiently worked in the lane and neutralized the damage that Ginebra’s twin towers of Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar could possibly inflict as the Bolts again won with authority for the second consecutive game this conference.
Last year’s Best Import lit up the stat sheets with 30 points, 24 rebounds and eight assists and got contributions from the energetic crew of Chris Newsome, Jared Dillinger and Cliff Hodge.
The turning point came when the Bolts engineered a huge run in the third quarter, building as many as 19 before settling with a 15-point cushion that they protected until the final buzzer.
Brownlee hardly contributed to turn the tide around and obviously wasn’t in his element in the opening match of the Kings, who are bidding for a back-to-back championship in the season-ending conference.
Earlier, Star capitalized on Blackwater’s misery and opened their campaign with an emphatic 103-86 win.
The Elite couldn’t nail their shots from afar and got roughed up in the lane. Worse, the team’s most consistent performer, import Trevis Simpson, was plagued by an injury at a time they needed him most.
Simpson crumpled to the floor with almost a full quarter to go and the Hotshots wasted no time in dealing the lethal blows as center Ian Sangalang and PJ Simon conspired for the finishing kick.
MERALCO 93—Durham 30, Dillinger 17, Newsome 16, Hodge 10, Amer 8, Hugnatan 5, Nabong 4, Lanete 3, Caram 0, Chua 0, Atkins 0, Faundo 0, Sedurifa 0.
GINEBRA 78—Tenorio 16, Slaughter 14, Brownlee 13, Thompson 9, Mercado 8, Aguilar 6, Ellis 6, Marcelo 4, Taha 2, Mariano 0, Devance 0, Caguioa 0.
Quarters: 21-32, 43-45, 72-57, 93-78