MANILA – Justin Brownlee converted a go-ahead three-pointer as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings scored a 104-103 victory over Meralco Bolts in Game 2 of the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals on Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Down 101-103 after a conversion from Bolts’ Allen Durham, Brownlee raced down the floor to pull up for a three-pointer in front of Durham’s defense to give the Gin Kings a 104-103 lead with 10.1 seconds left.
The Gin Kings then buckled up on defense as Brownlee and his teammates thwarted several inside attempts from Bolts’ Clifford Hodge and Durham to escape with a one-point win.
Brownlee finished the match with 39 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks as the Gin Kings surged to a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-five quarterfinals series.
“Tonight, we jumped on the broad shoulders of Justin, and we have done that several time,” said Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone. “But we have a realization that we cannot do that every game and we have to play better in the next game.”
Earl Scottie Thompson and Maverick Ahanmisi contributed 19 and 15 markers, respectively, while Rhon Jhay Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar ended with 11 each for Ginebra.
Durham top-scored for the Bolts with a double-double of 39 points and 14 rebounds, Chris Newsome added 23 markers, while Hodge ended with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the loss.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beermen leaned on another endgame rally to defeat Converge FiberXers, 107-100, and also surge to a 2-0 advantage in the race-to-three round-of-eight series.
After seeing their double-digit lead cut to as low as 95-97, the Beermen went on an 8-3 spurt behind Marcio Lassiter, June Mar Fajardo, Ejimofor Anosike, and Jaymar Perez to take a 105-98 advantage.
Anosike led the way with 41 points and nine rebounds, Fajardo added a double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds, while Aklanon Kris Rosales and Perez had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Beermen./PN
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 104 – Brownlee 39, Thompson 19, Ahanmisi 15, Abarrientos 11, J. Aguilar 11, Holt 6, Cu 3, Devance 0, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, R. Aguilar 0.
MERALCO 103 – Durham 39, Newsome 23, Hodge 15, Quinto 8, Bates 7, Mendoza 6, Banchero 3, Pasaol 2, Caram 0, Rios 0, Almazan 0.
Quarterscores: 28-21, 48-41, 79-75, 104-103.
