Barangay Ginebra forward Justin Brownlee. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Barangay Ginebra finally got to brush off NorthPort behind a late third quarter surge to secure a 118-102 win in their best-of-three quarterfinal opener and on the verge of advancing to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semis on Wednesday at Philsports Arena.
Justin Brownlee dropped 10 of his 39 points in the last three minutes of the third as the Gin Kings were able to pull away and eventually saw their aspirations of reaching the final four of the midseason tournament within reach.
“They’re a frustrating team to play because they’re good,” said coach Tim Cone, who along with his staff opted to wear black polo shirts instead of his customary tie.
Ginebra can wrap it up on Saturday at the same venue and set up a semis encounter with either Magnolia or Phoenix.
Four other players scored in double figures, including Stanley Pringle with 16 and LA Tenorio with 12 on four three-pointers.
His game tally from downtown also allowed Tenorio to move past Ronnie Magsanoc for fourth all-time on the career list of threes made while being four away from tying James Yap at No. 3 with 1,174.
Arvin Tolentino scored 29 while Robert Bolick had 21 but the Batang Pier ran out of steam after keeping the game close in the first half and for most of the third period.
Ginebra was only up 75-73 when Brownlee led a surge until the end of the quarter that put his team in safer territory.
His scoring binge highlighted a 14-1 run which put the Gin Kings up 89-74 entering the final canto.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 118 — Brownlee 39, Pringle 16, Malonzo 13, Tenorio 12, Thompson 11, Gray 9, J.Aguilar 7, Mariano 6, Standhardinger 5.
NORTHPORT 102 — Tolentino 29, Bolick 21, Ibeh 18, Ferrer 15, Sumang 9, Navarro 8, Ayaay 2, Chan 0, Calma 0, Balanza 0.
Quarters: 29-24, 56-50, 89-74, 118-102.