BARANGAY Ginebra finally got going in the PBA Commissioner's Cup behind a 99-91 victory over Meralco on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Scottie Thompson flirted with a triple double while resident import Justin Brownlee took charge late when the Gin Kings finally put away a Bolts side that simply refused to die.
Brownlee finished with a game-high 34 points, four rebounds, and four assists for the Kings, who are now at 1-1 as they bounced back from a 22-point loss to Rain or Shine in their conference debut.
[READ: Cone gives update on timetable for Gray return]
The Bolts, meanwhile, fell to their second straight loss, marking the first time the team went 0-2 in an import laden conference since the 2014 Governors Cup.
"In the end, Justin was our finisher. He finished the game for us," said Cone of the 34-year-old Brownlee.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player candidate scored 13 points in the fourth period, including the Kings' last eight points.
Thompson meanwhile finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists in a bounce back game after being held to just a single point in the game against Rain or Shine.
Stanley Pringle added 16, while finishing with 10 points each were Christian Standhardinger, Japeth Aguilar, and Jamie Malonzo, who finally got his first win playing in a Barangay Ginebra jersey.
Import Johnny O'Bryant had a double-double of 31 points and 16 rebounds, but these were not enough to bail out the Bolts, who missed the services of main man Chris Newsome due to injury.
Allein Maliksi had a big night offensively, nailing four three-pointers to finish with 20 points, while Aaron Black had an all-around game of 14, six rebounds, and nine assists, followed by the double-double of Raymond Almazan with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The scores:
Ginebra (99) – Brownlee 34, Pringle 16, Thompson 15, J.Aguilar 10, Malonzo 10, Standhardinger 10, Tenorio 4, Pessumal 0.
Meralco (91) - O’Bryant 31, Maliksi 20, Black 14, Almazan 10, Pasaol 9, Quinto 3, Hodge 2, Banchero 2, Caram 0, Hugnatan 0.
Quarterscores: 26-22; 49-41; 73-65; 99-91.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
