JUSTIN Brownlee buried a three-pointer over Allen Durham with 10.1 seconds left as Barangay Ginebra beat Meralco, 104-103, on Saturday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum to take a 2-0 lead in the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals.
Brownlee's stepback three capped off a grind-out match-up between the two imports with the Gin Kings ending up as victors to move one win away from advancing to the semifinals.
READ: Brownlee delivers the goods as Ginebra takes Game 1 from Meralco
Even Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone was left in awe about Brownlee's heroics.
"It was Justin's night. It was amazing," Cone said.
Brownlee finished with 39 points on 4-of-7 shooting from threes, none bigger than the last one that he hit in the final seconds that had fans reminiscing the title-winning basket during the 2016 Governors’ Cup finals. He also had seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, and three blocks.
Durham’s performance went for naught even after he played his best game of the conference by contributing 39 points and 14 rebounds. He also scored a three-point play with 1:22 left in the game that enabled Meralco to grab a 103-101 lead.
Durham missed the potential game-winner, a follow-up at the buzzer.
Brownlee rescued the Gin Kings after they were trailing, 100-96, after a lay-up by Durham with 2:15 remaining in the game.
“Tonight, we jumped on the broad shoulders of Justin. We’ve done that many times in the past. But we also have a realization that we can’t do that every night, and we have to do better in the next game,” said Cone.
Ginebra was also able to finish what it started after being on top early, holding a 23-10 lead in the first quarter.
Game Three is slated on Monday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Scottie Thompson had 19 points and six rebounds, while Maverick Ahanmisi added 15 points including a three-pointer that nearly became the game-winner that put the Gin Kings ahead only for Durham to reply with that three-point play.
Chris Newsome had 23 points, while Cliff Hodge had 15 points, 10 rebounds, and seven assists but Meralco now faces elimination in its first conference since winning its first PBA title in the Philippine Cup last season.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 104 – Brownlee 39, Thompson 19, Ahanmisi 15, Abarrientos 11, J. Aguilar 11, Holt 6, Cu 3, Devance 0, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, R. Aguilar 0.
Meralco 103 – Durham 39, Newsome 23, Hodge 15, Quinto 8, Bates 7, Mendoza 6, Banchero 3, Pasaol 2, Caram 0, Rios 0, Almazan 0.
Quarters: 28-21; 48-41; 79-75; 104-103.
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