Meralco pulled away late to hack out an 83-74 victory over Barangay Ginebra to take a 2-1 lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven finals on Sunday, April 10.

(READ: Bishop dominates as Meralco zaps Brownlee, Ginebra for 2-1 lead)

Preview

Tim Cone already said it: Game 3s are “always kind of telling” in a best-of-seven series.

So expect Barangay Ginebra and Meralco to pull out all the stops as they dispute a 2-1 lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, April 10.

Blown out in Game 1, the Gin Kings recaptured their deadly form and held off an inspired Bolts comeback in a gritty 99-93 win to level the series at 1-1.

“[Game 3s] kind of tell which direction [the series] is going to go,” Cone said.

“You even out those first two games, that third game basically makes it the first win in a best-of-five. That is always crucial.”

Meralco, though, almost clinched a 2-0 series lead after nearly erasing a 20-point deficit as it narrowed the gap to 91-94 with two minutes remaining.

Fortunately for the Gin Kings, the ever-reliable Justin Brownlee came up with a clutch steal on Chris Banchero and flushed home a two-handed dunk that dashed all of the Bolts’ comeback hopes.

Brownlee authored another sensational performance of 36 points on a 12-of-18 shooting to go with 13 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks to rebound from his modest Game 1 outing which saw him shoot 7-of-20.

The Ginebra locals also rose to the occasion, with Scottie Thompson and Christian Standhardinger posting double-doubles and LA Tenorio and John Pinto scoring in twin digits after being non-factors in Game 1.

Meralco guards Aaron Black and Allein Maliksi will be marked men in Game 3.

Black is coming off a career game that saw him erupt for 24 points, while Maliksi is expected to bounce back after being held scoreless for the first time this conference.

Game time is 6:30 pm.

– Rappler.com