JUSTIN Brownlee continued to be a nightmare for Meralco.
Many times an executioner for the Bolts in their rivalry, Brownlee was at it again Saturday night, taking charge in the clutch to lift Barangay Ginebra to a 104-103 nail-biter and to a two-to-nil lead in their PBA Governors' Cup best-of-three quarterfinals showdown.
"Justin Noypi" made a crucial block on Allen Durham then banged away a trey to cap his 39-point performance, sending the Gin Kings to the threshold of the semifinals.
Coach Tim Cone and his crew take their first of three cracks at wrapping up their Last Eight showdown with the Bolts Monday over at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
In a Saturday special at the Big Dome, the Brownlee came through with another mammoth outing in a follow-up to his equally clutch showing Thursday, leading the Kings to a 99-92 verdict in the series opener.
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The Bolts put themselves in a good position to strike back in taking a 98-94 lead entering the last three minutes of the game.
They took the lead for the last time at 103-101 on a three-point play by Durham in the last 1:22 mark.
Coach Luigi Trillo's crew couldn't finish the job, though, unable to wrap things up and ended up the losing side once again on Brownlee's big plays in the stretch, none bigger than a triple with time down to 10 seconds.
Brownlee also logged seven rebounds and five assists in a solid outing complemented by Scottie Thompson with 19 points, Maverick Ahanmisi with 15, RJ Abarrientos with 11 and Japeth Aguilar also with 11.
Durham matched Brownlee's 39 markers but failed to deliver the coup de grace for the Bolts.
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Chris Newsome and Cliff Hodge backed up Durham with 23 and 15, respectively.(SB)
The Scores :
GINEBRA 104 - Brownlee 39, Thompson 19, Ahanmisi 15, Abarrientos 11, J.Aguilar 11, Holt 6, Cu 3, Devance 0, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, R.Aguilar 0.
MERALCO 103 - Durham 39, Newsome 23, Hodge 15, Quinto 8, Bates 7, Mendoza 6, Banchero 3, Pasaol 2, Caram 0, Rios 0, Almazan 0.
QUARTERS : 28-21, 48-41, 79-75, 104-103
