Ginebra steamrolls San Miguel, moves on cusp of PBA Finals
Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee. PBA IMAGES
ANTIPOLO CITY—Barangay Ginebra moved on the verge of advancing to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals with another masterful performance to beat San Miguel Beer, 121-103, in Game 2 of their semifinal series on Sunday at Ynares Center here.
Import Justin Brownlee and Christian Standhardinger scored 32 points each while Scottie Thompson came up with a triple-double as the Gin Kings gained a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Thompson had 21 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists with three steals and two blocks.
Ginebra goes for a sweep on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The manner of how Gin Kings got their twin victories is stunning to say the least, considering that the series was billed as a showdown between the champions of the league’s first two conferences.
A 18-1 start set the tone for another dominant show by Ginebra in front of a good crowd in this city and showed no let up unlike in Game 1 when a 21-point lead in the second half disappeared.
Jamie Malonzo also had a hand in the win, posting 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Reinforcement Cameron Clark had 23 points and 17 rebounds while CJ Perez tallied 20 points, seven rebounds and four assists, numbers that were enough for the Beermen.
San Miguel narrowed the deficit to five, 33-28, early in the second quarter before Ginebra put on another run to lead by a wide margin.
The scores:
GINEBRA 121—Standhardinger 32, Brownlee 32, Thompson 21, Malonzo 11, Gray 9, Pringle 7, Pinto 5, Mariano 4, Pessumal 0, Onwubere 0.
SAN MIGUEL 103—Clark 23, Perez 20, Ross 19, Tautuaa 12, Lassiter 8, Bulanadi 5, Herndon 5, Cruz 5, Enciso 3, Brondial 2, Faundo 1, Manuel 0.
Quarters: 31-24, 63-45, 94-72, 121-103.
