JUSTIN Brownlee got the job done on both ends of the court to lead Barangay Ginebra to a 99-94 decision over San Miguel Beer and take the upper hand anew in their PBA Governors' Cup semifinals duel at the Dasmarinas City Arena in Cavite.
Brownlee towed the Kings with 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists and as many blocked shots to earn coach Tim Cone's nod as the player mainly responsible for them taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
"We had some uncertain moments in the third quarter, when we came out of halftime," said Cone.
"But thanks to this guy here (Brownlee) we recovered and thanks to this guy again down the stretch we were able to win it," added Cone.
Japeth Aguilar (22, 8), Maverick Ahanmisi (15, 11) and Stephen Holt (11, 7, 7 assists) chipped in their ample share, but RJ Abarrientos and Scottie Thompson also made their mark in the win that rebounded Ginebra back from a 125-131 overtime loss in Game 2.
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Abarrientos was tops among the Kings who helped them back from a 60-67 deficit and into a 76-72 lead going to the final quarter while Thompson hauled down five of his eight rebounds in the final period.
Two of Thompson's boards came off the offensive glass that preserved Ginebra's 97-90 lead that was pegged when Holt and Brownlee each scored on a drive.
EJ Anosike's four-pointer pushed SMB within 94-97, but Ahanmisi all but sealed the deal with two charities in the last 12 seconds.
Anosike wound up with 32 points and 10 rebounds, but the Beermen's locals mainly found it tough to solve Ginebra's defense in the most crucial of stages, resulting in CJ Perez netting only 13 markers just two days removed from a 28-point performance in Game 2.
Marcio Lassiter notched 12 points and June Mar Fajardo was limited to 12 points although his 14 rebounds could not quite make up for him committing five of the team's12 turnovers that gave the Kings a plus-10 advantage in points off those giveaways.
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"We defended so much better tonight," noted Cone. "We played playoff defense tonight and I thought that was really the key."
For a long while, though, SMB managed to match Ginebra's pace, fighting back from an early 41-52 deficit and even unleashing a 16-2 run to raze a 51-58 Kings lead and get rewarded with a 67-60 lead.
Ginebra now aims to take a commanding 3-1 lead when Game 4 of the series is played out at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday. (NC)
The Scores :
GINEBRA 99 - Brownlee 30, J.Aguilar 22, Ahanmisi 15, Holt 11, Abarrientos 8, Thompson 8, Cu 5, Adamos 0, Devance 0.
SAN MIGUEL 94 - Anosike 32, Perez 13, Fajardo 12, Lassiter 12, Cruz 9, Romeo 8, Trollano 3, Ross 3, Tauatuaa 2, Rosales 0.
QUARTERS : 25-20, 54-45, 76-72, 99-94
