BARANGAY Ginebra and San Miguel took the head start in their respective best-of-five series in the PBA Governors’ Cup playoffs Thursday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Justine Brownlee again stood at the forefront of the Kings’ 99-92 win over old rival Meralco Bolts, while the Beermen withstood a late charge by the Converge FiberXers for a 102-95 victory.
Both teams gun for a commanding 2-0 lead in Game 2 Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Here are some of the takeaways in the second day of the quarterfinals.
1.JDV COMEBACK NOW OFFICIAL
The veteran big man came out of retirement and played his first official PBA game in two years. Devance was convinced by old mentor Tim Cone to wear the Ginebra uniform again and help the Kings in their bid to regain the Governors’ Cup championship.
The 42-year-old Fil-Am was in town for a personal business, but was persuaded by Cone to play again as the Kings are lacking in another big man with the injury to Isaac Go.
The Fil-Am from Honolulu, Hawaii is obviously not yet in playing form, but good enough to play for six minutes and scored six points in the Game 1 win over the Bolts.
2.BROWNLEE OUTPLAYS DURHAM IN FIRST MATCH UP IN FOUR YEARS
The Ginebra import got the better end of his first showdown with Durham since the 2020 Governors Cup finals.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player had 29 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, while scoring 10 in the fourth period when the Kings pulled away from the Bolts after a tight contest at the end of the third. Durham’s stats read 17 points, 13 rebounds, and two assists.
READ: Brownlee delivers the goods as Ginebra takes Game 1 from Meralco
3.DECENT DEBUT FOR NEW SMB IMPORT
EJ Anosike only shot 29 percent (7-of-24) in his first PBA game but finished with 28 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists to help the Beermen drew first blood against the FiberXers.
He also earned praise from teammate and eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo for his energy and hustle plays. The 25-year-old New York native is the third import of the Beermen this conference and hopefully, the last in the team’s quest to win its first ever Governors’ Cup since 2015.
4.CABAGNOT FACES FORMER TEAM IN PLAYOFFS FOR THE FIRST TIME
It feels surreal seeing Alex Cabagnot up against the very same team he helped win several champinships in the past. But there he was playing opposite the Beermen as he plays in his first quarterfinals since the 2021 Philippine Cup bubble in Bacolor Pampanga while donning the purple jersey of the Converge FiberXers.
The 41-year-old veteran finished with three points and three rebounds and finally got a feel of what it likes going up against the Beermen in the playoffs. Terrence Romeo made him feel he’s no longer part of the Beermen after the two got entangle in a minor altercation early in the first half.
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