Gin Kings roll past Road Warriors, near finals return

Games Sunday (Mall of Asia Arena)
4 p.m. – Meralco vs Magnolia (Semis, Game 3)
6:30 p.m. – NLEX vs Ginebra (Semis, Game 3)
*Gin Kings lead best-of-five series, 2-0

MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra proved it’s still as potent without ace big man Japeth Aguilar, steamrolling NLEX, 104-94, to move on the cusp of a return stint in the PBA Governors’ Cup finals on Friday in front of an 8,179-strong crowd at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Justin Brownlee, as always, was clutch and pumped in 32 points, nine rebounds, six assists, four steals and two blocks as the Gin Kings sealed a followup to their 95-86 win in Game One and took a commanding 2-0 edge in the race-to-three semifinal contest with Aguilar out on calf injury.

While the usual suspects delivered, Ginebra gained much from the heads-up play from Nards Pinto, who scored all of his 10 in the Gin Kings’ furious fightback from an 11-point deficit in the second quarter.

“I thought Nards Pinto was the key to the game,” said coach Tim Cone of the bruising guard who also had five assists and two rebounds.

“We were kinda falling behind but he kept us in the game with his tremendous play in the second quarter and gave us a chance to come out and play that hard in the third quarter and get ahead.”

Pinto banged up his knee during the game but was able to come back, giving Cone hopes it wasn’t as bad as Aguilar’s.

Aguilar went down on a calf injury in the third quarter of Game 1 and was diagnosed with a Grade 2 strain. The 6-foot-9 slotman has been listed as “day-to-day.”

“He took a PRP (platelet-rich plasma treatment) yesterday (Thursday). If it works, we hope to get him back by Sunday or Wednesday. It’s really a continuing thing,” said Cone.

“We did a good job tonight but it’s going to get more difficult without him as we go along and they start adjusting in his absence.”

Five players produced 10 points or more for the Gin Kings. Other than Brownlee and Pinto, joining the scoring parade were Scottie Thompson (17 markers and 12 boards), Christian Standhardinger (17) and LA Tenorio (15).

Rookie Matt Nieto led NLEX with 19 as import Cameron Clark had 15 before fouling out.

As with the series opener, NLEX had control of the early skirmishes before the crowd darlings charged back and asserted themselves.

The Road Warriors had their best moments early in the second canto, where they grabbed a 42-31 edge on a bucket by Kenneth Ighalo.

But Pinto opened the doors to a blistering 24-7 assault by Ginebra towards the end of the period, enabling his team to wrest a 55-49 advantage at the turn.

That momentum was all the Gin Kings needed to break the game wide open in the final 24 minutes of play.

After taking a six-point margin at the turn, Ginebra turned to Scottie Thompson and Brownlee to lead a 27-17 assault and build an 82-66 upperhand going to the fourth.

The scores:

Ginebra 104 – Brownlee 32, Thompson 17, Standhardinger 17, Tenorio 15, Pinto 10, Devance 7, Tolentino 6, Caperal 0, Chan 0, Ayaay 0

NLEX 94 – Nieto 19, Clark 15, Chua 12, Alas 12, Rosales 10, Trollano 10, Quinahan 8, Semerad 3, Ighalo 3, Paniamogan 2

Quartercores: 24-27, 55-49, 82-66, 104-94