Justin Brownlee and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in match 2 of the final of Commissioner PBA. –Marlo Cueto / Inquirer.net
It was not the prettiest victory, but Barangay Ginebra did the work by avoiding being buried in a deep hole at the start of the series of finals of the PBA commissioner’s cup.
And what happened after the victory of the Gin Kings 71-70 Game 2 before 12,925 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday evening is only a clear indication of the difficult task that will be necessary for one or the other team to win the mid-season tournament.
“We have to show this character, this real grain, so that we have a chance in this series,” said Ginebra Tim Cone coach while the series was led to 1-1 after a ugly shooting match of the two teams before a heart finish.
Highlights: finals of the pba commissioner’s cup – Ginebra vs tnt game 2
The 35 points by Justin Brownlee, who represented almost half of the production of Ginebra, were a polar opposite of the game which made the two teams launched more bricks than brands, either because of a good defense, or simply missing open attempts.
Despite the fact of forcing the TNT to two finals for futility, Ginebra had to hold back his breath after having wasted a 13-point lead at halftime and a flight, 70-67, in the dying seconds.
But the Gin Kings obtained the last four Brownlee points while obtaining the stops on Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, which ended up going 6 out of 23 for 23 points in what could be a positive sign for the favorites of the crowd.
“They just reached very deep to make two incredible stops,” added Cone, praising her charges.
Ginebra Gin Kings’ Justin Brownlee in the final of the PBA Commissioner Cup against TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TNT TN
And if match 2 had this wild end, the same goes for moved forward, starting with match 3 at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Scottie Thompson collected 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, but almost had an expensive turnover when, after grasping the offensive glass off Brownlee, he launched a pass intercepted by Calvin Oftana.
But Ginebra doubled Hollis-Jefferson on the game that followed and the strengthening of Tropang Giga could not offer a shot as time expired.
Get out of the way
TNT almost won after being held at only four points in the second quarter and 19 at halftime, both establishing ugly records in the series of titles. Ginebra led, 32-19, at the break.
The frustration of having a bad shooting coupled with the difficulty of catching the kings of Gin encouraged Poy Erram to lose its composure again and, at one point, to launch part of the Tropang Giga equipment while returning to the locker room in the third to get rid of the steam.
But TNT returned slowly with Rey Nambatac finding his shots and Oftana and RR Pogoy making three points despite their difficulties.
Pogoy only collected 11 points on 4 shots out of 12 after having made 15 out of five in the 95-89 victory in match 1, while Oftana had five out of 2 out of 8.
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Nambatac scored 14 points with three rebounds and five assists for Tropang Giga. Inq
