BARANGAY Ginebra continued to be the hottest team in the PBA 50th Season Commissioner's Cup, cruising to a 119-107 win over Titan Ultra on Sunday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Justin Brownlee scored 35 points and RJ Abarrientos added 25 as the Gins won their fifth straight game to tie NLEX at second place on a 7-2 win-loss record - enough to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Titan Ultra dropped to 2-7 after losing its fourth straight match.
READ Did Guiao snub Arejola in post-game handshake? Not so, says coach
Ginebra saw a lot of players step up in the absence of Japeth Aguilar, who remains in the hospital after a hard fall in a win over Blackwater just last Friday.
“This is where we want to get to,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “We want to get this kind of record. This is something that we've talked about. We had to make sure we showed up for the last four games.
"We've seen how many times teams have upset favored teams and we didn't want to be one of those teams that get upset,” said Cone.
Ginebra has Meralco, Rain or Shine, and TNT in the final stretch as the battle for Top Four spots - and twice-to-beat advantage- heats up.
“We were just trying to keep our habits going. We are going into a stretch of three really hard games with Meralco, Rain or Shine, and TNT.
Brownlee shot 12-of-27 from the floor while also grabbing nine rebounds. Abarrientos added 25 points on 4-of-8 shooting from three.
Scottie Thompson had 12 points, nine rebounds, and nine assists.
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 119 – Brownlee 35, Abarrientos 25, Thompson 12, Rosario 12, Holt 10, Pinto 7, Go 6, Torres 5, Gray 3, Abis 2, Estil 2, R. Aguilar 0, Cu 0.
Titan Ultra 107 – Munzon 20, Sajonia 17, Gilmore 15, Yu 13, Ular 12, Dionisio 9, Balanza 8, Flores 4, Javillonar 4, Caralipio 3, Omega 2, Sangco 0, Melecio 0, Cuntapay 0, Pessumal 0, Ambohot 0.
Quarters: 22-16; 56-48; 86-73; 119-107.
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.
