By Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Barangay Ginebra Kings pulled away in the homestretch after engaging the Blackwater Elite in a toe-to-toe battle for nearly three quarters to hack out a 107-95 victory in their PBA Governors’ Cup match Wednesday night.
Import Justin Brownlee posted a near triple-double of 27 points, nine rebounds and eight assists to lead the Kings to their third straight win and fourth overall in five games—their best start in years ironically despite the continued absence of their biggest weapon, Greg Slaughter, who is still recuperating from an ankle injury.
Ginebra is now at solo third in the standings behind joint leaders Mahindra and TNT Ka-Tropa, both with a 4-0 record.
LA Tenorio shrugged off his non-inclusion in last Sunday’s All-Star game by dishing out 23 points on a nearly flawless 10-for-12 shooting from the field.
Japeth Aguilar also dished out his A-game, finishing with 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.
Sol Mercado starred for Ginebra in the fourth quarter, hitting a three-pointer, breaking away in transition and then setting up Brownlee for a fastbreak layup as they Kings pulled away, 86-76.
Ginebra even extended its advantage to 18 points in the last few minutes before relaxing a bit, allowing Blackwater to trim the deficit.
Import Eric Dawson led the Elite with 26 points, 18 rebounds and seven assists while JP Erram posted 13 points, 11 boards and four blocks.
Blackwater dropped to 1-3.
Meralco 109, Rain or Shine 102
The Meralco Bolts exploded from the get-go to zap the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 109-102.
The Bolts started the game with a 16-0 blast, maintaining their command of the game until the very end to snap their two-game losing streak and improve to a 3-2 win-loss card.
The loss halted the Painters’ two-game winning streak as ROS dropped to 2-2.
Import Allen Durham took advantage of a new, lighter and much better fitting mask to protect his broken nose as he paced the Bolts with a game-high 32 points, 12 boards, five assists, two blocks, and two steals.
Chris Newsome and Bryan Faundo added 12 markers apiece, Cliff Hodge chipped in with 11 while Baseer Amer and Jared Dillinger contributed 10 points each. Jimmy Alapag had nine points and a game-high seven assists.
Import Dior Lowhorn led ROS with 25 points and eight boards.
Games Friday: Mahindra Enforcers (4-0) vs. Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (1-3) and Star Hotshots (1-3) vs. NLEX Road Warriors (1-3).
