Rain or Shine gives Brownlee cold welcome

MANILA, Philippines — Barangay Ginebra sought to roll out the red carpet for comebacking import Justin Brownlee with a victory. But Rain or Shine had an entirely different plan.

Spoiling the PBA homecoming party of Brownlee, the Elasto Painters took down the Gin Kings, 73-64, for pole position in Group B of the Governors’ Cup last night at the Candon City Arena in Candon, Ilocos Sur.

Rookie Felix Lemetti and blue-collar import Aaron Fuller produced the heroics in the last six minutes to help ROS complete the sabotage job in Brownlee’s first gig since April 2023 and make it a 2-0 start.

Lemetti, the Fil-Swedish eighth pick overall, dropped eight of his 13 points in the stretch to spark a 16-2 closing barrage that overturned the Gin Kings’ 62-57 advantage.

Fuller banged in 16, mostly on second chance points, and grabbed 22 rebounds in this smashing follow up to the Elasto Painters’ 110-97 opening triumph over Blackwater on the road.

Brownlee, back after sitting out last season’s Commissioner’s Cup due to his FIBA suspension after the Asian Games, finished with 18.

Japeth Aguilar took the scoring cudgels for the debuting Gin Kings with 20 while off-season trade acquisition Stephen Holt, the Season 48 Rookie of the Year, netted 13.

Meanwhile, NLEX (1-0) and San Miguel Beer (1-0) gun for a share of the Group B lead today when the competition shifts back to the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Road Warriors, who opened their quest with a 104-87 romp over Blackwater last Thursday, set the target against Phoenix (0-1) at 5 p.m.

San Miguel Beer scored a 111-107 victory over Phoenix last Wednesday.