Bolts overwhelm Gin Kings on Brownlee’s return

MANILA, Philippines — Meralco spoiled Justin Brownlee’s return to Ginebra after carving out a wire-to-wire 93-82 victory in the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Unfazed by the man who denied them a Governors’ Cup championship, the Bolts, led by import Arinze Onuaku, went for the offensive early. They scored seven unanswered points to dictate the tempo outright and never looked back.

Chris Newsome added 22 points to Onuaku’s team-best 24. Anjo Caram and Jared Dillinger contributed 13 and 12 points, respectively, while Baser Amer tallied 10.

“Chris, offensively, is really very good tonight,“ Meralco head coach Norman Black said. “Of course defensively, we have been trying to keep Scottie Thompson off the boards as much as possible.”

"A lot of credit goes also to (Dillinger) for his defense, but also to Anjo. By starting tonight he tried to give us a better matchup against LA Tenorio,” he continued.

“Good effort for us, big win for us especially it leaves us a little bit more from the top and keeps us away from the bottom. Now we get a week to prepare for Phoenix," Black offered.

Brownlee, for his part, was nothing short of spectacular. He finished the game with a triple-double (20 points, 16 rebounds, and 12 assists), but couldn’t squeeze half of the brilliance from his other teammates. Only Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson managed to breach the double-digit mark with 13 and 12 points. 

“Of course you can’t stop him,” Black said of the Gin Kings’ import. “But we’re just to slow him down as much as possible.”

The win affords Meralco a 4-2 win-loss card in the mid-season conference. 

Ginebra, on the other hand, continues to struggle with a 1-4 record and face an uphill climb to recovery as they are set to take on sister team and defending champion San Miguel Beer this Sunday.

The Beermen are coming off their first win in the Commissioner’s Cup and have seemed to figure out how to mix and match its personnel on the floor.

The scores:

Meralco 93 - Onuaku 24, Newsome 22, Dillinger 13, Caram 12, De Ocampo 5, Hodge 4, Canaleta 0, Hugnatan 0.

Ginebra 89 - Brownlee 20, Aguilar 13, Thompson 12, Slaughter 8, Mercado 7, Tenorio 6, Devance 6, Caguioa 5, Caperal 5, Cruz 0.

Quarters: 28-22, 48-42, 73-58, 93-89