PBA Finals: Ginebra survives Meralco for 1-0 lead

Ginebra import Justin Brownlee during the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Game 1. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines–Justin Brownlee powered Barangay Ginebra past Meralco for a 91-87 victory and a head start in their PBA Governors’ Cup Finals best-of-seven race Tuesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

The import scored 37 points and plucked down 16 rebounds to lead the Gin Kings in a tight contest where both teams went back and forth in the final quarter.

“I honestly feel the is the way going to be every game: a grind out, fight-to-the end, Meralco’s so disciplined it’s so hard to get them out of tempo,” said coach Tim Cone in the post-game presser.

“It really just came down to each possession. You blow one possession, you blow the game,” he added.

The Gin Kings held it together down the stretch all thanks to significant contributions from LA Tenorio and Stanley Pringle who scored 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Japeth Aguilar, who had 16 in the contest, also made his presence felt in the end, making a crucial stop on Allen Durham that pretty much iced the game.

Durham for his part had 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists to lead all of the Bolts. Raymond Almazan and Chris Newsome added 20 or more in the losing effort.

Barangay Ginebra looks to tab another win when the series shifts to Lucena City at Quezon Convention Center this Friday.

The scores

Ginebra 91 – Brownlee 38, Aguilar 16, Tenorio 14, Pringle 10, Slaughter 8, Thompson 2, Chan 2.

Meralco 87 – Durham 25, Newsome 24, Almazan 20, Amer 9, Caram 4, Quinto 3, Hodge 0, Faundo 0, Pinto 0.

Quarterscores: 19-19, 41-37, 71-68, 91-87.

POST-GAME INTERVIEW

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