Justin Brownlee leads Ginebra to a breakthrough win. PBA IMAGES
Justin Brownlee finally pulled off a breakthrough win with the Barangay Ginebra Kings in a 93-85 triumph over the NLEX Road Warriors in a PBA Commissioner’s Cup road game at the Ibalong Centrum for Recreation Saturday night in Legazpi City.
Brownlee was always a force for the Kings in their last three matches, including an overtime loss to San Miguel Beer, but they badly needed this one to keep them in the hunt for a quarterfinal spot.
The beloved import finished with a near triple double with 23 points 22 rebounds and seven assists against three turnovers.
Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar also delivered for the Kings, who relied mostly on their might in the paint to send the Road Warriors to their sixth defeat in eight games.
The crowd favorites only needed a big run early in the third with Sol Mercado and Joe DeVance complementing Ginebra’s frontline that made the outcome predictable.
Without reliable gunners Kiefer Ravena and Kevin Alas, the Road Warriors shot themselves in the foot after missing most of their attempts in a spirited chase to cut down the Kings to size.
Arnett Moultrie gave his all for NLEX, scoring 30 points on top of 19 rebounds, four steals and one block, but wasn’t able to get the support from a crew led by Emman Monfort, the only local player who finished in double figures with 14 points.
Alex Mallari somehow lost his flair for playing hero during crunch time, bungling 11 of his 13 shots from the field, including missing all of his five three-point attempts.
The Kings moved up with their second win in seven outings, but remained in a tight situation with four games left in their elimination-round campaign.
Only eight teams will progress to the crossover quarters after the elims with the top two squads earning a twice-to-beat advantage.