BARANGAY Ginebra's locals showed they're capable of taking charge, too, and easing the burden of the do-it-all Justin Brownlee.
With Scottie Thompson, Japeth Aguilar, Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos doing the heavy lifting, the Gin Kings pummeled Phoenix, 94-72, to go 2-0 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Friday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Thompson netted 17 points spiked by a 3-of-5 shooting from deep, Aguilar had 16-6, Rosario chipped in 14 and Abarrientos produced 12-5-6 as they carried the cudgels for Ginebra and allowed Brownlee to enjoy extended breather.
Brownlee saw action for only 32 minutes and three seconds and finished with 10 markers, seven boards and seven dimes.
The Ginebra resident import was in relaxed mode on the bench when the locals wiped out Phoenix's eight-point lead in the third and completely turned the tables around with a 21-0 salvo bridging the third and the fourth periods.
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"We didn't shoot the ball well in the first half but we stayed in the game defensively and then when our defense started taking hold, we started to create some misses. Then we're able to kind of pull away in the game and again, that's the next level for us," said coach Tim Cone.
"It's continuing to defend and when Justin is off the floor, the five guys that are on the floor, they're responsible to keeping the game in range, keeping sustain the lead or whatever. Anytime they can extend the lead and get bigger and better, that's really extra gravy for us and that's what happened tonight.
"In the meantime that's going to be huge for Justin, I think overall for our team, so he stays fresher for the playoffs," added Cone.
Donovan Smith banged in 20 markers with 15 rebounds but was held scoreless in the fourth when Ginebra closed it out with a 23-7 exchange.(OL)
The Scores :
GINEBRA 94 - Thompson 17, J.Aguilar 16, Rosario 14, Abarrientos 12, Brownlee 10, Cu 8, Holt 5, Ahanmisi 5, Pinto 5, Mariano 2, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0
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PHOENIX 72 - Smith 20, Tuffin 15, Perkins 10, Tio 7, Ballungay 7, Rivero 4, Manganti 4, Verano 3, Salado 2, Alejandro 0, Jazul 0, Camacho 0, Garcia 0, Soyud 0, Ular 0
QUARTERS : 23-28, 47-48, 71-65, 94-72
