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Barangay Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee shoots a jumper during a game in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup. (Courtesy: PBA Images)
Justin Brownlee exploded with 40 points as Barangay Ginebra obliterated Rain or Shine, 114-90, to get its top-four bid on track in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Brownlee fired six of the Gin Kings’ 21 triples as they bounced back big from a 91-112 drubbing from Meralco last Friday and moved up to No. 2 with an 8-3 slate plus a winner-over-the-other edge over the Elasto Painters (8-3).
Ginebra also got five three-pointers from Ralph Cu—who was the sparkplug in the middle quarters—five treys from Scottie Thompson, four from Rjay Abarrientos, and one from Stephen Holt.
Meralco, meanwhile, sealed a quarterfinal seat and zeroed in on a twice-to-beat advantage after zapping also-ran Blackwater, 108-93, in the opening game.
The Kings broke free from a close battle as Cu and Brownlee started hitting their shots from the outside to grab a massive 86-70 lead in the third period.
Coach Tim Cone’s charges kept riding their hot hands in the final frame to go up as high as 26 points on their way to picking up the huge rebound win.
Jaylen Johnson had 16 points on a sour 6-of-18 shooting to go with 15 rebounds while Gian Mamuyac had 14 markers and Anton Asistio had 13 for RoS, which suffered its second straight loss following a narrow 90-92 defeat to NLEX last Wednesday.
In the first game, Marvin Jones once again took charge of the Bolts’ balanced offensive barrage with 26 points and 12 rebounds as they nabbed back-to-back victories and tightened their hold of No. 4 with a 7-3 card.
Chris Banchero chalked 14 points and eight assists, CJ Cansino and Bong Quinto tallied 12 markers apiece, Aaron Black contributed 11, and Chris Newsome chipped in 10 for Meralco.
Robert Upshaw III had 31 points and 12 boards while Sedrick Barefield and Paul Zamar had 16 and 11 markers, respectively, in a losing cause for the Bossing, who skidded to third consecutive setback and an overall 2-9 record.
The scores:
First game
MERALCO 108 – Jones 26, Banchero 14, Cansino 12, Quinto 12, Black 11, Newsome 10, Brickman 6, Hodge 6, Mocon 5, Bates 2, Maliksi 2, Pascual 1, Comia 1, Rios 0, Magbuhos 0
BLACKWATER 93 – Upshaw III 31, Barefield 16, Zamar 11, Mallilin 9, Una 9, Austria 7, Tratrer 5, Murrell 2, Jopia 2, Altamirano 1, David 0, Andrade 0, Guinto 0
Quarters: 35-25, 61-51, 87-67, 108-93
Second game
GINEBRA 114 – Brownlee 40, Abarrientos 23, Thompson 17, Cu 15, Rosario 13, Holt 4, Torres 2, Pinto 0
RAIN OR SHINE 90 – Johnson 16, Mamuyac 14, Asistio 13, Nocum 10, Santillan 8, Tiongosn 8, Villegas 6, Cuajao 6, Caracut 5, Malonzo 2, Manaytay 0, Clarito 0, David 0
Quarters: 21-20, 51-42, 86-70, 114-90
— Rex Espiritu
*****
Credit belongs to: www.manilastandard.net
