Sol Mercado of Ginebra (right) boxes out Moala Tautuaa of TNT for the rebound during Game 4 of their Final Four series on Sunday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum. —AUGUST DELA CRUZ
Barangay Ginebra hardly capitalized on the early ejection of Glen Rice Jr.
Luckily for the Gin Kings, Justin Brownlee was there to bail them out.
Brownlee fired on all cylinders and scored a career-high 46 points as the Kings ended their semifinal showdown with the TNT KaTropa, 115-105, on Sunday night in the PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The defending champion Gin Kings forged a championship rematch with the Meralco Bolts, who booked a finals spot on Friday with a sweep of the Star Hotshots.
Finishing off the KaTropa in four games of their best-of-five series (3-1) wasn’t an easy task though after they had to spring back from an 18-point hole to carve out the win.
But something happened at the halftime dugout that motivated the Gin Kings.
“It was (Robert) Jaworski,” said Brownlee. “He gave us a lot of motivation and reminded us of that never-say-die attitude.”
With Ginebra’s “Living Legend” cheering at ringside, Brownlee banged in 28 of his points in the second half and LA Tenorio bombed TNT with threes and finished with 25 points.
“It’s gonna be a fight,” said Brownlee in anticipation of his duel with Meralco’s Allen Durham, the reigning best import. “They’ll be ready, we’ll be ready and I can’t wait to play them.”
Rice was sent to the dugout late in the first quarter with the KaTropa ahead by 10, to the delight of the Ginebra faithful.
Kevin Ferrer’s physicality apparently got into Rice, who pushed Ferrer and threw the ball at the Ginebra wingman’s face in a dead-ball situation, 1:41 left in the opening quarter.
The KaTropa tried to make do with the handicap as they worked hard to protect a double-digit advantage that even went as high as 18 at one point.
But Rice’s shoes were too big to fill and his absence was eventually felt by TNT.
The Bolts are practically the same team as last year except for one significant piece in the puzzle: former national team standout Ranidel De Ocampo.
“Getting a player of his caliber was a big lift for us,” said Meralco coach Norman Black of the 13-year veteran De Ocampo, who was traded by TNT in a multiplayer, three-team deal in early September.
GINEBRA 115 – TNT 105
GINEBRA 115—Brownlee 46, Tenorio 25, Slaughter 21, Mercado 11, Aguilar 6, Ferrer 4, Caguioa 2, Thompson 0, Devance 0.
TNT 105—Rosario 28, Castro 26, Pogoy 14, Semerad 12, Williams 10, Tautuaa 9, Reyes 4, Rice Jr. 2, Golla 0, Carey 0, Nuyles 0, Hernandez 0, Seigle 0.
Quarters: 32-41, 52-66, 80-86, 115-105