Brownlee's huge 3rd quarter game propels Ginebra past San Miguel in PBA semis opener

MANILA, Philippines -- Justin Brownlee exploded in the third quarter to help Barangay Ginebra draw first blood in their PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals series against the San Miguel Beermen, 122-105, Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Brownlee fired 20 of his 33 points in the third quarter, which saw the Gin Kings break the game wide open. He shot 10-of-17 from the field, including 5-of-6 from the 4-point area.

This was enough to help his squad go over the Beermen, who just came from a grueling five-game quarterfinal series against the Converge FiberXers.

The two teams were kept in a close game through the half, with a late dunk by Japeth Aguilar giving Ginebra a five-point advantage, 63-58.

Come the third, Brownlee started off with a 3-pointer that set his tone. The Gin Kings started off the quarter with an 8-2 run capped by a Brownlee triple to push the lead to 11, 71-60.

Simon Enciso answered back with a trey of his own to cut it down to eight, 63-71, but Brownlee, Stephen Holt and Scottie Thompson teamed up and completely turned the tide in favor of the Gin Kings, 97-76, with 3:02 remaining in the frame.

It did not stop there, as the Gin Kings' lead grew to as much as 24 points, 102-78, after a Thompson layup.

The nearest San Miguel got to was 14 points, 98-112, after a June Mar Fajardo layup with 4:28 left as Ginebra hit big shots down the stretch.

“I thought we played a really good first half, but we knew we needed to play even a better second half. That was the message. We were pleased with the way we played in the first half, we were playing with the rhythm we wanted to play and [Brownlee] came out and just… shot after shot after shot,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone told reporters after the game.

Holt also exploded and finished with 30 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 11-of-18 shooting. RJ Abarrientos added 13, while Thompson had 10.

EJ Anosike paced the Beermen with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter backstopped with 18 markers. Fajardo flirted with a triple-double with 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.

Game 2 will be on Friday, 7:30 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.