July 21, 2018

Brownlee explosion props Kings vs Painters

JUSTIN Brownlee is back with a vengeance and Barangay Ginebra is now just a step away from a cherished goal.

Delivering a second straight first half explosion, Brownlee pointed the Kings to a hard-earned 75-72 victory over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Saturday in their PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals series at the Mall of Asia Arena.

After going up 2-1 in the best-of-five duel the perennial crowd darlings now have two cracks, starting Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, at closing the deal and make it through to the finals.

All because of Brownlee, who finished with 44 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and five steals while making up for his nine-point second half performance in a 100-109 loss in Game 2 last Thursday.

"I just tried to stay aggressive, just tried to stay in rhythm," said Brownlee, who also had a steal and a block in the fourth period that helped make sure Ginebra stayed ahead.

Sponsored content:
The Kings sure needed every play Brownlee made.

Like in the series' first two games Rain or Shine started slow to trail by as many as 25 points twice, but again waged a gallant fightback that saw it threaten within 72-74, still 9.8 ticks left.

Deliberately fouled, LA Tenorio left the door open for the E-Painters to tie the game when he could only come up with a charity split that made it 75-72, 6.8 seconds to go.

It's just that the Kings' defense held while swarming all over James Yap, forcing the two-time MVP to launch and miss a harried three-point try in the last two seconds.

Avoiding such a near-meltdown is now Ginebra coach Tim Cone's main concern. "That's something we have to talk about, prepare for because we didn't respond well," he said.

Sponsored content:
What adds to Cone's alarm is the fact Rain or Shine managed to make a game of it despite Reggie Johnson scoring only 13 points, 14.5 below his series average. He did grab 22 rebounds and his short stab made it a 72-74 count.

Raymond Almazan and Ed Daquioag were the only other E-Painters in double figures with at least 11 markers apiece while Yap was only held to nine points on 1-for-9 shooting.

Still, the likes of Maverick Ahanmisi, Rey Nambatac and Beau Belga hit some timely shots that enabled Rain or Shine to almost raze a 41-61 Kings lead at the end of three quarters.

Incidentally, Tenorio was Brownlee's only main backup with 13 points although Scottie Thompson atoned for a scoreless night with 10 rebounds and eight assists.

Things might have been a lot different if not for Rain or Shine's terrible start which saw it trail by 14 after the first quarter and by 23-46 at the half.

Its first half output was the second lowest for the Asian Coatings franchise and brought about by its 6-for-35 shooting to Ginebra's 17-for-45 clip.

But just like in a 102-89 loss in the opener, the E-Painters started finding their mark in the second half and even outscored the Kings 31-14 in the fourth period. (NC)