BARANGAY Ginebra captured its fourth straight win at the expense of Blackwater, 101-93, on Wednesday night in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Justin Brownlee continued his all-around performance, finishing with 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists as Ginebra withstood an error-strewn start to post the wire-to-wire win - its fifth in seven games overall.
LA Tenorio scored 20 points and Japeth Aguilar added 18 as the Gin Kings gained a share of third place with Meralco in the race for four of the twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinals.
Ginebra led by as many as 21 points but still had to endure anxious monents in the final minutes following a Blackwater comeback.
“That was a battle both mentally and physically,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “We were making a lot of turnovers, granted they were changing [defense and lineups].
"I thought coach Aris (Dimaunahan) did an incredible job of throwing us different types of defenses and different lineups.”
Ginebra led 72-51 in the third quarter, but the Gin Kings’ lead shrunk to five following a 9-0 run led by Mac Belo.
The lead dropped to four on a three-pointer by Rabeh Al-Hussaini, 93-89, with 3:20 left, but a trey by Tenorio and a basket by Brownlee took the wind off the Elite's sail.
Belo scored 19 points while Bobby Ray Parks added 14 points for the Elite, who joined Rain or Shine at the bottom of the standings with a 2-7 win-loss record.
The scores:
Ginebra 101 – Tenorio 20, J. Aguilar 18, Brownlee 17, Pringle 16, Slaughter 11, Thompson 10, Dela Cruz 6, Chan 3, Mariano 0, Caguioa 0.
Blackwater 93 – Belo 19, Parks 14, Sumang 12, Cruz 11, Heruela 8, Blakely 8, Sena 6, Al-Hussaini 3, Canaleta 3, Tolomia 3, Desiderio 3.
Quarters: 29-17; 55-44; 77-64; 101-93.
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