Barangay Ginebra forward Justin Brownlee goes up for a shot during a quarterfinals game against TNT in the PBA Governors’ Cup. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines – Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson put on the heat in the second period as Barangay Ginebra rolled past TNT, 115-95, for a seat in the Final Four of the PBA Governors’ Cup Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The pair greased a 15-3 run in that crucial period, giving the crowd darlings a 59-46 edge going into the halftime break along with all sorts of momentum that the Gin Kings used to the hilt, ultimately overhauling the defending conference champions’ twice-to-beat disadvantage in the series.
“I’ve only done it a few times in my career and so it’s always super special to win a twice-to-beat disadvantage. To find a way to do that, it’s really really hard the odds are way against you. And of course, to do it against Chot Reyes and a huge opponent like TNT … it makes it special,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
Brownlee led the way with 29 points that went with 18 rebounds and 7 assists as Thompson turned in another all-around game of 17-10-9. Japeth Aguilar chipped in 26 while LA Tenorio 22 more before a pandemic-era record 10,846 fans.
Caperal to Brownlee; 101-86 Ginebra #PBAiTuloyAngLaban pic.twitter.com/Fkc4emp2fC
— PBA (@pbaconnect) March 19, 2022
“Nards (Pinto) Scottie—everybody—LA of course, Justin … everybody was hitting shots tonight. It makes the game a lot easier when you’re making shots,” Cone said as he reveled in the team’s 54.7 percent shooting from the field.
“And we just saw an opportunity to you know, when the (new TNT) import started limping around, we just saw an opportunity. I think our guys just seized the opportunity and that’s what good teams do,” he went on.
Ginebra, winner of three of the last four editions of this tournament, takes on the winner of the Alaska-NLEX duel which is being played as of press time.
The Scores
Barangay Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 29, Aguilar 26, Tenorio 22, Thompson 17, Standhardinger 10, Pinto 7, Chan 4, Caperal 0, Enriquez 0, Ayaay 0.
TNT 95 – M. Williams 17, Gilmore III 14, Castro 12, Erram 11, K. Williams 10, Pogoy 9, Rosario 7, Khobuntin 5, Montalbo 4, Cruz 3, Reyes 3, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarters: 25-29, 59-48, 96-74, 115-95.