BARANGAY Ginebra leaned on a hot-shooting first quarter and some poise in the endgame to turn back Rain or Shine, 109-101, on Friday in their PBA 50th Season Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin Kings had a 33-20 lead following the early explosion of Justin Brownlee and RJ Abarrientos, before weathering a Jhonard Clarito-fueled comeback that saw ROS cut a 24-point lead to just four points late in Game Two.
READ Red-hot Ginebra opens 22-point halftime lead vs ROS
The Gin Kings, who lost Game One, 111-115, avoided falling into a 0-2 hole heading to Game 3 of the best-of-seven Final Four series on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
“We controlled the game until the last six minutes of the game, and it was all them,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “Honestly, we made some bad coaching decisions in Game 1 in terms of preparation. We didn't read what Rain or Shine was going to do to us, and I thought we did a better job in Game 2 coming out with a better game plan and a better plan of attack.”
Brownlee had 31 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists, while Abarrientos had 25 points on 3-of-6 from threes for the Gin Kings.
Brownlee had 13 points in the first quarter, and Abarrientos made all of his threes in the first quarter that got the Gins ahead by 13, and later, by 24, 62-38, in the third quarter.
The Gin Kings were already up by 20, 98-78, when Deo Cuajao made a three, and Clarito scored a three-point play on the fifth foul committed by Abarrientos. Clarito scored four more, with Jaylen Johnson knocking down a three to slice the gap at its closest at 101-97.
Ginebra held on to the lead when Adrian Nocum missed a lay-up on the next Rain or Shine possession, leading to two free throws by Scottie Thompson.
“I thought the game kinda turned on that blocking call, should have been a charge, on Clarito versus RJ. We got the short end of that call. We lost RJ for a lot of time, it hurt us,” said Cone.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 109 – Brownlee 31, Abarrientos 25, Thompson 15, J. Aguilar 14, Rosario 11, Gray 5, Holt 3, Pinto 3, Cu 2.
Rain or Shine 101 – Nocum 20, Johnson 19, Clarito 19, Mamuyac 18, Malonzo 8, Asistio 4, Manaytay 4, Santillan 4, Cuajao 3, David 2, Caracut 0.
Quarters: 33-20; 62-40; 88-69; 109-101.
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