MANILA, Philippines – It was just one of those superb performances from Justin Brownlee.
Brownlee dropped 40 points on an ultra-efficient 13-of-19 shooting, allowing Barangay Ginebra to exact revenge on Rain or Shine by way of a 124-102 romp in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, September 13.
His PBA return spoiled by the Elasto Painters in a 73-64 loss in their first meeting of the conference, Brownlee bounced back in style and added 10 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2 blocks as the Gin Kings picked up their fourth straight win.
“Some nights he’ll come out and he’ll play a great game, but it might be on the defensive side, moving the ball, getting his guys open. He’s not looking for the credit at all and he just doesn’t care for the credit, he only cares about the win,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone of Brownlee.
“That’s what makes him special as a teammate, because his teammates see that and they know that. On nights like tonight, he was on a rhythm and he’ll take advantage of that being in a rhythm.”
Brownlee poured 21 points in the last two quarters as the Gin Kings blew the game wide open after a nip-and-tuck first half that saw them grab a measly 58-54 lead.
That advantage swelled to double digits at the end of the third period, 90-79, before Ginebra pulled away for good behind the fourth-quarter explosion of Stephen Holt.
Holt scattered 15 of his 18 points in the final frame as their lead peaked at 123-96, with Rain or Shine finding no answers for the Gin Kings’ torrid shooting from beyond the arc that resulted in 17 three-pointers on a 52% clip.
“Coach is always telling us to try to find a balance between whether it’s me shooting my shots or me getting guys involved or guys going out there and being aggressive. I think we’ve found a very good balance,” Brownlee said.
Japeth Aguilar contributed 21 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals, while Scottie Thompson chimed in 17 points and 8 rebounds for Ginebra, which improved to 5-2 to tie Rain or Shine and San Miguel for the top spot in Group B.
Rookie RJ Abarrientos added 14 points and 4 assists in the victory.
Import Aaron Fuller showed the way with 28 points and 11 rebounds for the Elasto Painters, who absorbed their second loss in three games after a blazing 4-0 start to the conference.
Their only other defeat came at the hands of the Beermen, who escaped with a 113-112 win thanks to a June Mar Fajardo game-winner.
Jhonard Clarito had 16 points and 5 rebounds, while Felix Lemetti put up 15 points in the losing effort.
The Scores
Barangay Ginebra 124 – Brownlee 40, J.Aguilar 21, Holt 18, Thompson 17, Abarrientos 14, Ahanmisi 13, Garcia 1, Pinto 0, R.Aguilar 0, Cu 0, Adamos 0, Pessumal 0, Go 0.
Rain or Shine 102 – Fuller 28, Clarito 16, Lemetti 15, Nocum 12, Caracut 8, Santillan 6, Villegas 6, Tiongson 5, Mamuyac 4, Norwood 2, Datu.
Quarters: 38-30 58-54, 90-79, 124-102.
– Rappler.com