THE Barangay Ginebra Kings are a win away from a return to the throne.
Justin Brownlee and his teammates broke the back-and-forth pattern in the PBA Commissioner's Cup finals, scoring the first back-to-back to take the pivotal 3-2 lead to the delight of the predominantly Ginebra crowd of over 12,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
The Gin Kings threw a defensive blanket to hold the TNT Tropang Giga to 21 points in the second half and carve out a 73-66 Game 5 victory.
The two teams take a two-day breather before resuming war Wednesday at the same venue with the Gin Kings trying to close out the series and nail a first crown since their classic title run in the 2023 Commissioner's Cup versus the Bay Area Dragons.
Brownlee combined with Scottie Thompson in taking over the game in the fourth quarter, with the duo outscoring the entire TNT team, 14-10, to carry Ginebra ahead in the series for the first time.
The Gin Kings just pulled abreast on their victories in Game 2 (71-70) and Game 4 (95-78).
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It appeared TNT would again take command in the series as the Rondae Hollis Jefferson and his teammates headed to the dugout at the turn with a 45-35 lead.
They were still in control at 47-37 before Maverick Ahanmisi touched off a key 10-0 run as the Gin Kings caught up at 47-all, and the game went down to a battle at the finish.
The two teams engaged in a seesaw fight in the early minutes of the fourth then the Tropang Giga faded away and were blanked by the Kings in the last four minutes and 25 seconds.
The Kings were still down at 65-66 before Thompson struck with back-to-back baskets, and then Brownlee delivered the killer blows with his own back-to-back buckets.
Continuing to play through an injured right thumb, Brownlee finished with 18 points, with 16 he made in the first half. He also put in 14 rebounds and five assists against three turnovers.
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Thompson had his own double-double outing with 16 markers and 10 boards as Ahanmisi and Japeth Aguilar contributed 11 apiece while Jamie Malonzo added six plus 10 rebounds.
Hollis-Jefferson and Rey Nambatac led the TNT stand with 19 points each. (SB)
The Scores :
GINEBRA 73 - Brownlee 18, Thompson 16, J.Aguilar 11, Ahanmisi 11, Rosario 6, Malonzo 6, Holt 3, Abarrientos 2, Tenorio 0.
TNT 66 - Hollis-Jefferson 19, Nambatac 19, Oftana 8, Pogoy 8, Aurin 8, Erram 4, Heruela 0, Williams 0, Exciminiano 0, Khobuntin 0.
QUARTERS: 17-24, 35-45, 57-56, 73-66
