MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra staved off a gutsy come-from-behind stand from Blackwater to eke out a 101-93 win in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome on Wednesday, October 30. 

Justin Brownlee caught fire late en route to his fourth triple-double of the conference and served as the stabilizer in the payoff period for the Gin Kings, who won their fourth straight to improve their record to 5-2. 

The import only had 7 points through 3 quarters before erupting in the final frame to finish with 17 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists, and 2 steals, capping off his performance with a clutch bucket in the last two minutes. 

Buried by as large as 21 points, 51-72, the Elite slowly chiseled away at their deficit and narrowed the gap to as close as 4 points, 93-97, off a Ray Parks layup with 1:28 minutes remaining. 

However, Brownlee answered with a layup of his own at the 1:18 minute mark to restore order before Art dela Cruz put Blackwater at bay off a floater. 

LA Tenorio paced Barangay Ginebra with 20 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, Japeth Aguilar finished with 18 points – half coming in the final frame – and 8 rebounds, while Stanley Pringle had 16 points.

Greg Slaughter chimed in 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win as Scottie Thompson added 10 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds. 

Mac Belo could have been the star of the match after scattering 11 of his 19 points in the final period, but the Elite just had a deficit too big to overcome as they dropped to the bottom of the standings behind a 2-7 record. 

Parks churned out 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, Roi Sumang and Carl Bryan Cruz had 12 and 11 points, respectively, while import Marqus Blakely put up 8 points, 13 rebounds, 5 steals, and 2 blocks in the loss. 

The Scores

Ginebra 101 – Tenorio 20, Aguilar 18, Brownlee 17, Pringle 16, Slaughter 11, Thompson 10, Dela Cruz 6, Chan 3, Caguioa 0, Mariano 0.

Blackwater 93 – Belo 19, Parks 14, Sumang 12, Cruz 11, Heruela 8, Blakely 8, Sena 6, Al-Hussaini 6, Desiderio 3, Canaleta 3, Tolomia 3.

Quarters: 29-17, 55-44, 77-64, 101-93.

– Rappler.com