PBA Governors’ Cup finals by the numbers

After nearly a week since Barangay Ginebra clinched the PBA Governors’ Cup finals with a pulsating 105-93 win over Meralco in Game 5 of the best-of-7 series at the MOA Arena last Friday, fans are still talking about how coach Tim Cone and his charges got the job done. Here’s a review of the title playoffs by the numbers.

8 – quarters of 20 in the five-game series where Meralco was held to less than 20 points. Ginebra was limited to less than 20 points in six periods.

6.8 – average points by Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee in the first quarter compared to 5.2 by Meralco’s Allen Durham, signifying a focus to start strong. Brownlee fired nine points in the first quarter of Game 1, 13 in Game 2, eight in Game 3, two in Game 4 and two in Game 5. Curiously, Brownlee’s low outputs in Games 4 and 5 came when Ginebra won both contests.

3 – games in the series where Ginebra trailed at the half. Meralco led 41-29 at the turn in Game 1, 63-46 in Game 2 and 46-40 in Game 5.

33 – assists that Ginebra compiled in Game 5. It surpassed the 27.8 average the team chalked up before the finals. For the series, Ginebra averaged 22.8 dimes compared to Meralco’s 19.4.

16 – triple connections by Meralco in Game 2 which the Bolts won, 104-102. In no other contest during the series did either Meralco or Ginebra knock down at least 10 treys.

31 – straight free throws Brownlee shot without a miss. Teammates Greg Slaughter (8-of-8) and L. A. Tenorio (6-of-6) also didn’t flub a single charity. For Meralco, spotless were Baser Amer (4-of-4) and Allein Maliksi (2-of-2).

1 – triple connected of 17 attempts by Maliksi or a 5.88 percent accuracy. Before the title playoffs, he checked in with a 31.3 percent clip from deep. Teammate Bong Quinto shot 48.8 percent from rainbow range entering the finals but in the five-game series, his marksmanship dropped to only 20 percent (3-of-15).

17,378 – attendance in Game 5 at the MOA Arena.

3 – games where Ginebra entered the fourth quarter on top. Those were in Games 3, 4, and 5 which Ginebra swept. Ginebra was up by 20 starting the fourth period in Game 3, 15 in Game 4 and six in Game 5.

84 – points Meralco averaged in its four losses to Ginebra. Before the title series, the Bolts averaged 100.8 points a game and Ginebra held opponents to an average of 99.4 points.

1 – start that Meralco’s Cliff Hodge made in the entire conference. That came in Game 5 with Raymond Almazan out of commission. Hodge scored 10 points in his first and only start of the Governors’ Cup, also the first time he broke into double figures in the conference.

2 – games in the finals where Brownlee tallied at least 30. Before the finals, Brownlee shot at least 30 in seven outings. Durham never fired at least 30 in the finals but did it in eight contests before. Brownlee’s conference high was 42 against San Miguel Beer while Durham’s was 44 against TNT in Game 2 of the semis.

2 – Meralco players who averaged at least 30 minutes a game in the finals – Durham (46:5) and Chris Newsome (38:34). With Ginebra, five players averaged at least 30 minutes – Brownlee (44:43), Stanley Pringle (39:30), Tenorio (36:9), Scottie Thompson (33:44) and Japeth Aguilar (32:56).

3.4 – average blocked shots by Aguilar to go with his norms of 17.4 points and seven rebounds. Aguilar was the runaway choice as Finals MVP. In Game 5, he netted a team-high 25 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in 39:58 minutes.

18.4 – average points by Pringle in his first finals appearance. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists. In 21 total games in the conference, Pringle missed scoring in double figures only twice. In the title series, he went over 20 points in three games.

10 – PBA championships won by Ginebra’s Joe DeVance, all with Cone (one Alaska, five San Mig Coffee/B-Meg, four Ginebra).

22 – overall titles won by Cone in 85 conferences over 30 seasons, including two Grand Slams.

9 – PBA championships won by Ginebra compared to zero for Meralco, still looking for its first crown since joining the league in 2010-11.

3 – Best Import awards earned by Durham, all in the Governors’ Cup and all with Brownlee placing second. Ironically, in those three Governors’ Cups, it was Brownlee’s team Ginebra that won in the finals over the Bolts.