JUSTIN Brownlee drained a crucial three as Barangay Ginebra survived NorthPort, 73-70, on Saturday in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Brownlee finished with 32 points including three triples, but none bigger than the go-ahead three he hit with 55 seconds left in the fourth to break a 70-70 tie.
That proved to be enough as Sean Anthony missed NorthPort’s final three-point attempt in the game.
Barangay Ginebra improved its card to 2-1, while dealing NorthPort its first loss after a 3-0 start.
The Kings had to earn the win as Brownlee actually scored the final five points of the game after the Batang Pier took a 70-68 lead with 2:11 left in the fourth.
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone admitted he felt like the game was a defeat.
“I almost didn’t remember to come in here,” said Cone. “I coached poorly. I thought it was a loss. We were turnover prone tonight. The problem with the zone is it really makes you look bad. The zone really bothered us, gave us a hard time finding high percentage shots. Our defense kept us in the game.”
Greg Slaughter had 16 points, while Scottie Thompson had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Kings.
Mo Tautuaa had 15 points including NorthPort’s last basket of the game, while Anthony had 14 points but missed two looks at the three-point shot in the Batang Pier’s final possession of the match. Prince Ibeh had eight points but grabbed 24 rebounds.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 73 – Brownlee 32, Slaughter 16, Thompson 11, Mercado 6, Ferrer 3, J. Aguilar 3, Mariano 2, Tenorio 0, Devance 0, Teodoro 0.
NorthPort 70 – Tautuaa 15, Anthony 14, Grey 9, Ibeh 8, Lanete 8, Pringle 7, Bolick 5, Elorde 4, Flores 0, Gabayni 0.
Quarters: 13-14; 38-31; 55-54; 73-70.
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