By Jonas Terrado
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel booked a return trip to the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals after finishing off NorthPort in another convincing victory 120-107 in Friday’s fourth game of their semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra’s Justin Brownlee appears to have lost his grip of the ball while going for a shot during Game 4 of the PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals. (PBA Images)
Import Justin Brownlee had 36 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists and three steals while four players also scored in double figures as Ginebra won the best-of-five affair for its third title appearance in the last four editions of the season-ending conference.
LA Tenorio waxed hot in the fourth to drop 19 points while dishing out six assists and Stanley Pringle capped off his consistent showing in the series with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and three assists.
Japeth Aguilar produced 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists with Scottie Thompson posting a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Ginebra bounced back from dropping a 124-90 decision in Game 1 by winning the last three games by an average margin of 22 points.
“We were able to wear them down with our depth,” said coach Tim Cone. “They came out with a heck of a first game and it was quite frightening how good they can be in that first game and it kinda shook us a bit.
“But we gained our bearings and saw us play what we want to play so it’s good that we don’t have to go to a fifth game. I’m just so happy,” he added.
It will be Cone’s fifth appearance in a title series since he started handling Ginebra before the 2015-16 season.
He also brought Ginebra back to the Governors’ Cup Finals after last year’s bid for a third straight crown ended with a semifinal loss to eventual champion Magnolia.
Ginebra fell short in the first two conferences, losing to Magnolia in the Philippine Cup quarterfinals and falling short against TNT KaTropa in the Commissioner’s Cup semis.
The winningest coach in history of the pro loop will attempt to capture an unprecedented 22nd championship against the winner of the other semifinal series between TNT and Meralco.
TNT holds a 2-1 lead against Meralco going into Saturday’s Game 4 at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Game 1 of the best-of-seven title showdown is set on Jan. 8, giving Cone plenty of time to prepare.
Christian Standhardinger and import Michael Qualls played all 48 minutes while Paolo Taha went on a rare scoring explosion in the third but NorthPort couldn’t make a serious comeback to end its Cinderella run in disappointment.
Standhardinger made 32 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, Qualls scored 25 points and Taha tallied 21 of his 29 in the third.
NorthPort made it this far despite having to win its last two games of the eliminations to clinch the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The Batang Pier then made history by erasing top seed NLEX’s twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.
Midnight, however, finally struck for coach Pido Jarencio’s miracle men as injuries to rookie Robert Bolick earlier in the conference and Sol Mercado and Kevin Ferrer during the series took a huge toll.
The scores:
GINEBRA 120 — Brownlee 36, Aguilar 20, Tenorio 19, Pringle 18, Thompson 14, Slaughter 6, Mariano 4, Chan 3, Dillinger 0.
NORTHPORT 107 — Standhardinger 32, Taha 29, Qualls 25, Anthony 18, Lanete 2, Elorde 1, Cruz 0, King 0, Escoto 0.
Quarters: 32-21; 56-39; 86-75; 120-107.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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