Meralco drains 16 threes, holds off Brgy. Ginebra in Game 2 to equalize Finals series
Meralco leaned on its bench to repulse Brgy. Ginebra, 104-102, Friday night in Game 2 of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven Finals series at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City.
After groping for form from beyond the arc in the series opener, the Bolts bounced back in record-breaking fashion by draining 16 threes out of 38 attempts, a PBA Finals record, to level the series at 1-game apiece.
Nards Pinto came off the bench and set the tone for the match by hitting all four of his three-pointers. Allen Durham followed suit with 3 of his own while Baser Amer had 5 – 2 coming in the final 3 minutes of the game.
Durham led the charge with 21 points and 18 boards while Amer and Chris Newsome added 17 markers each. Raymond Almazan and Pinto contributed 15 and 12 points, respectively. Nico Salva had 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.
The Gin Kings, who were able to tie the score at 70-all after being down by 19, 42-61, during the closing seconds of the first half, were led by Justin Brownlee who finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds.
Stanley Pringle rebounded from a lethargic Game 1 performance as the 32-year old Fil-Am came through with 23 points, including 3-of-8 shooting from long distance, to go along with 10 boards and 4 assists. Japeth Aguilar had 18 points while LA Tenorio chipped in 10.
The two teams will take a 1-day break before going into battle again for Game 3 which will be on Sunday, January 12 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
Meralco 104 – Durham 21, Amer 17, Newsome 17, Almazan 15, Pinto 12, Salva 9, Caram 5, Quinto 5, Faundo 3, Hodge 0, Hugnatan 0, Maliksi 0.
Brgy. Ginebra 102 – Brownlee 35, Pringle 23, Aguilar 18, Tenorio 10, Slaughter 6, Thompson 4, Caguioa 4, Mariano 2, Devance 0, Caperal 0, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 36-21, 63-46, 82-76, 104-102.