Gin Kings close in on PBA Finals after rout of Lee-less Hotshots
Brgy. Ginebra moved on the cusp of advancing to the Finals of the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup after demolishing out-of-sync Magnolia by 23 points, 103-80, Sunday night in Game 3 of the semifinals at the PhilsPorts Arena in Pasig City.
The Gin Kings thus reclaimed the lead, 2-1, in the best-of-five series and could wrap it all up in Game 4 which is set to Wednesday, December 21, 3:00pm at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Justin Brownlee paced the crowd darlings with 38 points on 12-of-20 shooting including 6-of-8 from beyond the arc. The 2-time Best Import awardee also tallied 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 39 minutes of action.
It was a double celebration for the future naturalized Pinoy as he became the 5th reinforcement in league history to register 5,000 career points after Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers, and Lew Massey.
“To top it off with a win, it was great tonight,” said Brownlee who was adjudged as the Best Player of the Game.
The Hotshots missed the services of Game 2 hero Paul Lee who started the match and played for 2 minutes before being yanked out for good due to flu-like symptoms.
“I think Paul Lee’s [absence] took the wind out of their sails. It’s hard to make in-game adjustments like that when you lose your star players. And he really has been the star,” said Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone.
“It’s only one win in the column, it doesn’t give you any pogi points going into the next game. We know we have to be better next game. We don’t want to go in a Game 5, because a lot of things could happen in a Game 5,” added the league’s most successful bench tactician,” he added.
LA Tenorio added 20 points while Scottie Thompson finished with 12 points, rebounds, 6 assists, a steal and 2 blocks. Christian Stanhardinger and Jamie Malonzo dropped 8 points each.
Jio Jalalon paced the Hotshots with 20 markers while Nick Rakocevic and Aris Dionisio added 10 points apiece.
The scores:
Brgy. Ginebra 103 – Brownlee 38, Tenorio 20, Thompson 12, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 8, J.Aguilar 6, Gray 2, Pringle 2, Mariano 2, R.Aguilar 2, Pinto 0, Pessumal 0.
Magnolia 80 – Jalalon 16, Rakocevic 10, Dionsio 10, Ahanmisi 9, Abueva 8, Wong 8, Barroca 6, Corpuz 4, Mendoza 3, Sangalang 2, Laput 2, Lee 0, Dela Rosa 0, Reavis 0.
Quarterscores: 17-15, 49-34, 74-61, 103-80.