MANILA — It’s Ginebra versus Meralco in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals again!
The Barangay set up a date with the Bolts for all the marbles after eliminating the TNT KaTropa with a 115-105 win in Game 4 of the semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.
Behind Justin Brownlee’s career game, Ginebra staved off TNT’s hot first quarter as the latter missed the services of Glen Rice Jr. the rest of the way after getting sent off late in the said period.
Rice shoved Kevin Ferrer while the latter guarded the former with 1:41 left in the period, which was merited for a flagrant foul penalty one.
Rice then threw the ball near Ferrrer’s head out of frustration, andh the officials slapped him with a technical foul that led to his ejection.
Still, the KaTropa’s local crew continued the hot trail and eventually dropped 41 points on the Barangay as they led by nine at the end of the quarter.
They would maintain the lead for the rest of the first half and even stretched it to 18, 72-54, in the third quarter.
Ginebra, however, unleashed its fury down the stretch, starting a huge comeback later in the third and completed it with a 10-0 run that totally overturned the outcome.
Brownlee finished with 46 points, 28 in the second half, 10 rebounds, five assists, two blocks, and one steal for the Barangay, who will take a three-day break before fighting the Bolts in Lucena on Friday to start the best-of-seven championship round.
LA Tenorio added a 25 points, four rebounds, seven assists, and one steal. Troy Rosario dropped 28 markers with 10 boards, and one steal for TNT.
Box Scores:
Ginebra 115 – Brownlee 46, Tenorio 25, Slaughter 21, Mercado 11, Aguilar 6, Ferrer 4, Caguioa 2, Thompson 0, Devance 0
TNT 105 – Rosario 28, Castro 26, Pogoy 14, Semerad 12, Williams 10, Tautuaa 9, Reyes 4, Rice Jr. 2, Golla 0, Carey 0, Nuyles 0, Hernandez 0, Seigle 0
Quarterscores: 32-41, 52-66, 80-86, 115-105