Brownlee expects ‘close’ PBA Finals ahead after lopsided first 2 games

Justin Brownlee. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

The first two games of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals have been entertaining to say the least.

San Miguel, the defending champion, and Barangay Ginebra blew each other out in Games 1 and 2 and share a winning margin of 26.5 points, but Justin Brownlee doesn’t see the remainder of the series going the same way how it started.

Brownlee said both teams will clamp down and the blowouts will be a thing of the past.

“Well, I’m sure neither team probably expects anybody to win by a big margin like that, like how we won in Game 1 and like how they won tonight,” said Brownlee after their 134-109 Game 2 loss Sunday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings drew first blood after they blindsided the Beermen by 28 points, 127-99, which was Ginebra’s largest finals win since beating San Miguel, 146-111, in Game 4 of the 2007 Philippine Cup Finals.

San Miguel responded in Game 2 with a 25-point win with the Beermen’s offensive production the biggest in league history since, well, the Gin Kings’ 146 points in Game 4 of the 2007 Philippine Cup finals.

Brownlee, who’s averaging 36.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and seven assists per game, said the future games in the series might even end up with one-point margins.

“Just from the beginning of the series we expect it to be hard, to be tough, and we expect it to be close,” said Brownlee. “The only thing we expect is to come out with a one-point win. We know from hereon, it’s going to be tough because it’s not going to be easier.”