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MANILA, Philippines – As Barangay Ginebra struggled to buy a basket and salvage a win streak, Justin Brownlee came to the rescue once more, completing the game-winning 3-point play for a 103-102 escape of the Alaska Aces on Sunday, May 7 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After a scoring dryspell lasting over two minutes, import Brownlee squared up against Alaska’s own Cory Jefferson inside the last 30 seconds. Brownlee then drove strong to the basket and got the two points plus the foul call, converting the marginal free throw for the final tally with 7.2 seconds remaining.
“That’s just Justin being Justin, he’s just an intelligent player, so intelligent,” coach Tim Cone praised Brownlee, who authored a championship-clinching 3-point winner 7 months ago that prompted the Gin Kings to sign him as import until season’s end.
Brownlee finished with 37 points with 14 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks as Ginebra stretched its win streak to 5 games in the 2017 PBA Commissioiner’s Cup.
LA Tenorio had 11 points and 6 assists, while Scottie Thompson contributed 11 markers, 11 rebounds, and 6 dimes as the Gin Kings survived after blowing a 13-point advantage in the third quarter.
Joe Devance and Mark Caguioa added 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for Ginebra, which now holds a 5-1 record and is on pace for another playoffs appearance.
“We certainly battled through a lot of adversity in that game,” noted Cone, whose team won on the same night one of Ginebra’s own legends, Eric Menk, was honored with a retirement ceremony at halftime.
“We made it through the last 6 minutes without a timeout, and down the stretch that made it difficult. But guys are used to playing down the stretch and making plays, and they did that both on offense and defense.”
Jefferson led the Aces with 25 points, 18 rebounds, and two steals, while Vic Manuel registered 13 markers.
JVee Casio, whose potential game-winning jumper over the defense of Tenorio simply bounced off the rim, put up 12 markers.
Alaska to a 4-3 record, losing its last 3 games.
Scores:
Ginebra (103): Brownlee 37, Devance 12, Tenorio 11, Thompson 11, Caguioa 10, Ferrer 6, Mercado 6, Ellis 6, Marcelo 4, Cruz 0.
Alaska (102): Jefferson 25, Manuel 13, Casio 12, Thoss 9, Banchero 9, Hontiveros 9, Racal 8, Exciminiano 7, Enciso 6, Pascual 4, Andrada 0, Mendoza 0.
Quarter scores: 32-30, 57-56, 87-76, 103-102.
– Rappler.com
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