MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel nabbed the solo lead in the standings after shrugging off a late scare from the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, 89-82, in the 2017 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, September 16.

Ginebra was in full control almost throughout the game and even held a 13-point lead midway the 4th quarter, 75-62, before the Elastopainters dropped a 10-0 run to cut their deficit to just 3 points, 72-75.

Solid shooting from the stripe and easy buckets from Justin Brownlee, who scored 6 of Ginebra’s last 12 points, kept Rain or Shine from clinching a quarterfinals slot as the Elastopainters dropped to 5-4. Ginebra, meanwhile, clinched their eighth win in 10 games.

“It was a real grind tonight trying to get that win. We weren’t happy about the first half play, we were more prepared in the second half. They stayed in the basketball game, we could not just get away. At least we got it done,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.

Four players from the Ginebra side finished in double figures with Brownlee leading the pack with 28 points to go with 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks. LA Tenorio chalked up 16 points, 4 assists, and 4 steals in the win.

Raymond Almazan, who scored 14 first half points that kept Rain or Shine afloat before the break, finished with a team-high 20 points while J’Nathan Bullock had 15 markers and 11 boards.

Japeth Aguilar was nowhere to be found for Ginebra as he ended up with no points, but it was Greg Slaughter who stepped up big with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Scores:

Ginebra (89) – Brownlee 28, Tenorio 16, Slaughter 12, Thompson 12, Mercado 9, Devance 7, Ferrer 5, Aguilar 0, Caguioa 0,

Rain or Shine (82) – Almazan 20, Bullock 15, Cruz 13, Tiu 11, Norwood 9, Belga 6, Borboran 3, Matias 3, Yap 2, Ahanmisi 0, Ponferada 0, Robles 0, Trollano 0

Quarter scores: 24-15, 37-32, 65-55, 89-82

– Rappler.com