MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings flirted with disaster before pulling off a 92-84 victory over Meralco Bolts to lead the series 2-1 in Game 3 of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Already clinging to an 83-65 lead midway in the fourth quarter, the Kings suddenly found themselves holding to an 87-82 advantage behind a furious Bolts run anchored by American import Allen Durham.
However, a three point conversation by LA Tenorio, followed by Japeth Aguilar’s inside basket from Justin Brownlee’s assist saw the Kings edge to eight points with under a minute to go.
Brownlee fell short of a triple-double performance with 24 points, nine rebounds and nine assists, Aguilar contributed 23 markers with seven blocks, while Stanley Pringle and Tenorio contributed 21 and 11 markers, respectively.
From a back-and-forth action in the first two quarters, tshe Kings opened the third period with 10-0 blast behind trios Tenorio, Brownlee and Pringle for a 53-42 edge. Baskets from Pringle and Greg Slaughter gave Ginebra its biggest lead at 78-55.
Meralco attempted to cut the deficit early in the fourth period via baskets from Trevis Jackson, but Brownlee responded for the Kings to create an 18 point advantage with over five minutes left.
Chris Newsome racked 24 points, Durham chipped in 23 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, while Bryan Faundo contributed 10 markers for the Bolts.
Aside from falling down in the best-of-seven titular showdown, the Bolts might also have to deal with the absence of their center Raymond Almazan, who exited in the first quarter due to a knee injury from an awkward landing after a layup try.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series showdown will still be in the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Jan. 15./PN
