Brownlee strikes again

It was an ending that Meralco’s Allen Durham dreaded. He gave it his all in the PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five quarterfinal series against Barangay Ginebra but when the smoke of battle cleared, the Bolts were once again thwarted by his nemesis Justin Brownlee.

Ginebra coach Tim Cone didn’t expect a sweep. Meralco hadn’t lost two in a row until the playoffs. Durham had hoped to reverse the tables on Brownlee after losing to the Gilas hero in their personal duel in three previous Governors’ Cup Finals. But winding up a four-time bridesmaid was a fate he couldn’t escape.

Meralco blew a golden opportunity to even the series in Game 2 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Saturday. The Bolts outplayed Ginebra in nearly all departments, dominating the boards, 51-33, collecting more assists, 27-18, committing less turnovers, 8-12, firing more points in the paint, 52-26, scoring more second chance points, 25-6, and taking more field goal attempts, 86-67. But the Bolts missed 15 free throws and just couldn’t contain Ginebra’s perimeter sniping. Brownlee saved his best for last, draining the marginal triple to push Ginebra up for good, 104-103, with 10.1 seconds to go. Meralco had a foul to give but never got the chance to use it. Still, the Bolts could’ve won it on the last possession but Joe Devance blocked Chris Newsome’s path to the basket, Cliff Hodge missed a jumper and Durham tossed a desperation one-hander that didn’t come close to the basket.

In Game 3 last Monday, Meralco held sway until early in the fourth quarter. The Bolts frittered away a 12-point lead in the third period and entered the last 12 minutes sitting on a seven-point cushion. Then, Brownlee happened. JB’s two booming four-pointers fueled Ginebra’s comeback and Meralco crumbled under the pressure of a do-or-die predicament. It seemed as if the Bolts expected Ginebra to make a run and when the gates flung open, they were flustered.

As usual, Cone did a masterful job on both ends. Ginebra constricted the paint with a tight zone and took control of the rebounds. In the first half, Brownlee took only six field goal tries when in Game 2, he averaged nearly seven a quarter. Meralco’s switching and trapping defense made it difficult for Brownlee to disengage. So Cone turned to his other gunners. He rotated the troops quickly to keep Meralco’s defense on edge and brought in RJ Abarrientos to play point so Scottie Thompson could roam the floor to do damage at the two spot. Devance, brought out of a two-year retirement when Isaac Go went down, provided stability to Cone’s triangle. Cone’s gamble to reactivate JDV paid off. A major difference in Game 3 was Ginebra’s conscious effort to control the boards. Meralco outrebounded Ginebra in the first two games but in the third, it was the other way around. Six Ginebra players scored in double figures to put icing on the cake.