Gin Kings roll past Dyip, claim twice-to-beat advantage
Brgy. Ginebra almost fell to an upset-conscious Terrafirma side and escaped with a 109-104 victory, Wednesday night in the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Justin Brownlee and Jamie Malonzo came through with the winning baskets after Jordan Williams trimmed the crowd darlings’ lead to a solitary point, 105-104, with a minute and twenty left on the game clock. The Dyip import, however, missed a layup and a three-pointer on successive possessions to seal the fate of his team.
The Gin Kings picked up win number 8 against 2 losses to formally clinch a spot in the top 4 and along with it a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinal round. The Johndel Cardel-mentored squad, on the other hand, closed out their campaign in the season-ending conference with a 2-9 card.
Brownlee paced the defending champs with another herculean effort of 38 points on 15-of-23 shooting in 43 minutes of action. The newly naturalized Filipino added 3 boards, 6 assists and 5 big blocks to his tally.
“That’s what we’ve been working for the whole conference,” said Brgy. Ginebra head coach Tim Cone during the post-game presser.
“Way too many tough moments out there. They [Terrafirma] shot the ball extremely well, they all stepped up. We just had to really reach deep, and find a way,” he added.
Christian Standhardinger added 23 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists while Malonzo finished with 16 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and a block. Scottie Thompson contributed 13 points while John Pinto and Jeremiah Gray chipped in 9 and 7 markers, respectively.
The Gin Kings close out their elimination round schedule against TNT on Friday, March 17, 5:45pm at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
The scores:
Brgy. Ginebra 109 – Brownlee 38, Standhardinger 23, Malonzo 16, Thompson 13, Pinto 9, Gray 7, Pringle 3.
Terrafirma 104 – J. Williams 35, Tiongson 18, Camson 11, Gomez de Liano 8, Calvo 7, Cahilig 7, Mina 7, Daquioag 3, Cabagnot 3, Ramos 3, Gabayni 2, Ferrer 0, Alolino 0.
Quarterscores: 26-24, 52-48, 78-79, 109-104.
