Brownlee brings out old stuff vs Bolts

MANILA, Philippines —   Like what he’s used to in previous Barangay Ginebra-Meralco playoffs duels, Justin Brownlee took charge of the finishing for the Gin Kings.

Brownlee peppered their old rivals with 10 points in the fourth period to power the Gin Kings to a hard-earned 99-92 verdict in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals series opener versus the Bolts last night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Brownlee finished with 29 points to go with 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals as he beat Allen Durham, his chief rival in the 2016, 2017 and 2019 Governors’ Cup title duels, in giving his team a 1-0 upperhand in the best-of-five contest.

Brownlee’s major spark in a 22-14 closing barrage saved the day after Ginebra blew a 66-51 tear and allowed Meralco to take the driver’s seat, 78-77, early in the fourth quarter.

Ginebra overcame what coach Tim Cone described as a “feeling-out stage” for Brownlee and new additions like Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos.

“It’s an interesting dynamic for us. We haven’t played Meralco this conference yet so it’s been kind of a feeling-out process. Justin hasn’t been against (Meralco consultant) Nenad (Vucenic) and (coach) Luigi (Trillo) before, Stephen and RJ haven’t played against Meralco (in a playoff),” he said.

“They’re trying to play their game and we’re trying to play ours. We came out on top but basically we just made more plays, especially Justin, down the stretch so that was the key. But it could have gone either way,” he added.

Scottie Thompson produced 19 markers, five boards and five assists while Holt shot 14, Japeth Aguilar had 10 to back up JB.

Durham, who beat Brownlee for Best Import honors but lost the title in their three previous faceoffs, logged 17 markers and 13 boards for the Bolts.

Interestingly, it was defensive specialist Cliff Hodge who showed the way in scoring for Meralco with 23 followed by Chris Newsome with 20.

“Throughout the years, it’s just been a fun challenge (against Meralco). They’ve always been at the top of their game and always given us an A-plus game. So, it’s always been tough but it’s been fun against that group of guys over there that’s very competitive,” said Brownlee.

Ginebra threatened to blow Meralco out as it led by 13 in the second period and 15 in the third. But the resilient Bolts repeatedly fought their way back and were in it before JB did his thing.

Meanwhile, Rain or Shine and TNT shoot for a 2-0 lead against their respective Last-8 rivals today in a road gig in Sta Rosa, Laguna.

The Elasto Painters seek a repeat of their 109-105 opening win against Magnolia at 5 p.m. while the defending champion Tropang Giga aim for a follow-up to their 107-102 Game 1 W versus NLEX at 7:30 p.m.

The Hotshots are hunting for a 1-1 equalizer with a new import, Boston Celtic Jabari Bird, on board, in place of Rayvonte Rice.