Kings reign over Rain Or Shine, reach final

Local crew takes over as Brownlee struggles

MANILA, Philippines — Justin Brownlee struggled for only 12 points after a big 44-point explosion but the Ginebra locals proved they are more than just a Justin Brownlee team as they beat out Rain or Shine, 96-94, in a gripping battle to make the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Scottie Thompson gutted it out to snatch crucial rebounds from behind and make key defensive stops while LA Tenorio, Joe Devance and Greg Slaughter came through on the offensive end as the Gin Kings hurdled the Elasto Painters to set up a best-of-seven championship showdown with the San Miguel Beermen.

Curiously, it’s a duel between the fifth-seeded Ginebra team and the sixth-ranked SMB squad as both teams survived their scrambling starts in the midseason tourney. Ousted were top seed Rain or Shine and No. 2 Alaska Milk.

“San Miguel may well be the greatest team of all time, but we’re happy where we are and we’re happy to play San Miguel. The challenge is there for us, and I expect our guys to embrace it,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

Game One of what could well be a slam-bang title showdown is Friday, also at the Big Dome.

The Kings actually set the pace most of the way, but needed the heroics of Tenorio, Slaughter, Devance and Thompson to survive a tough battle at the finish.

It came down to the last possession, and Ginebra won it as Thompson stole Gabe Norwood’s throw-in to James Yap in the last 1.4 seconds.

Slaughter and Devance scored 19 points each, Tenorio fired 16 markers while Thompson snared 10 rebounds, took three steals and chipped in six points as Ginebra advanced to a 24th PBA Finals, with a chance to win an 11th crown.

“It’s a relief we’ll not play Rain or Shine in a deciding Game Five,” said Cone.

The scores:

Ginebra 96 – Slaughter 19, Devance 19, Tenorio 16, Brownlee 12, Chan 9, Thompson 6, J. Aguilar 6, Caguioa 4, Mercado 3, Ferrer 2, Mariano 0.

Rain or Shine 94 – Johnson 22, Almazan 13, Borboran 11, Washington 11, Yap 10, Norwood 8, Tiu 7, Ponferada 4, Daquioag 3, Nambatac 3, Belga 2, Ahanmisi 0.

Quarterscores: 25-20; 47-40; 73-67; 96-94.