Games Friday:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. — TNT vs Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs San Miguel
Justin Brownlee just made hitting four-pointers look easy.
The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel resident import torched San Miguel Beer from way out, hitting a record five quadruples in a 122-105 blowout win in Game 1 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup best-of-seven semifinals Wednesday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Brownlee knocked down his first five attempts from the four-point area, including three in a huge third quarter barrage that saw the Gin Kings create significant separation by outscoring the tired Beermen, 34-20, to set the tone for the rout.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive. I felt I was in a good rhythm, so I just wanted to be aggressive, take shots that were presented,” Brownlee said.
Brownlee scored 20 of his game-high 33 points in the third period and shot 10-of-17 from the field including an efficient 5-of-6 from the four-point area for the most quadruples made in a single game.
“San Miguel they always come ready to play. They always have a good game plan but for some reason, I find myself open a few times from deep, from the four. So, I just try to shoot them and be aggressive,” added Brownlee, who also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists.
Stephen Holt also made a huge impact in his first semis appearance, dropping 30 points on 11-of-18 field goal shooting, pulled down eight boards and had four assists for the well-rested Ginebra, which took advantage of the tired Beermen. RJ Abarrientos scored 13 while Scottie Thompson added 10.
“I thought we played a really good first half but we knew we really needed to play an even better second half,” Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said.
“We were pleased with the way we played in the first half. We were playing in the rhythm that we wanted to play. (Brownlee) came out and shot after shot after shot that really extended the lead for us.”
Game 2 is on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Brownlee came out smoking after the break, sinking two triples in an opening 8-2 Ginebra run. He hit his fifth quadruple with 3:37 left to give the Gin Kings a 21-point lead before scoring another bucket for a 97-76 advantage with 3:04 left.
The Gilas Pilipinas naturalized player missed his last four-point attempt with 1:37 left in the third before getting subbed out.
Ginebra kept its safe distance throughout the fourth.
Ginebra’s swarming defense especially against San Miguel center June Mar Fajardo also spelled the difference.
Fajardo, after a 40-point, 24-rebound outing against Converge in Game 5 of the quarterfinals, had to bleed for his 16 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists.
EJ Anosike had 27 points and Marcio Lassiter finished with 18 for the San Miguel.
Abarrientos waxed-hot in the opening half, hitting three triples as he teamed up with Brownlee and Stephen Holt to carry the Gin Kings’ offense with 13 points each.
Ginebra’s running game was fluid in the first two quarters, scoring 10 while preventing the Beermen from scoring a single point on the open court.