By Jonas Terrado
Game Friday
(Quezon Convention Center, Lucena City)
7 p.m. — Meralco vs Ginebra
(Ginebra leads series 1-0)
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel drew timely performances from LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Stanley Pringle in the fourth quarter to eke out a 91-87 win over Meralco and draw first blood in the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra guard LA Tenorio goes for a one-handed attempt while Meralco’s Allen Durham, right, and Baser Amer look on during Game 1 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals. (PBA Images)
Tenorio, Aguilar and Pringle provided import Justin Brownlee the needed offensive support to erase a 10-point third quarter deficit before Ginebra leaned on its defense in the final seconds to fashion out a win in front of 10,708 fans.
Meralco had chances to escape with a victory but rookie Bong Quinto missed a go-ahead three and Aguilar blocked Durham’s game-tying layup to cap off a low-scoring, defensive battle Ginebra endured.
Coach Tim Cone later said that the opener is just prelude of what could transpire the rest of the championship series which resumes Friday when both teams travel 160 kilometers to Lucena City, Quezon for Game 2.
“I honestly feel this is the way it’s gonna be every game,” said Cone. “It’s gonna be a grindout fight to see who comes out on top in the last few minutes.”
Brownlee scored 34 of his 38 points in the first three quarters before Tenorio, Aguilar and Pringle accounted for 17 of Ginebra’s 23 points in the payoff period.
The three locals came through as Ginebra slowly reduced a 61-51 deficit with 5:13 remaining to take leads of 80-73 and 84-79 in the fourth.
Justin Brownlee scored 34 of his 38 in the first three quarters. (PBA Images)
But Meralco rallied behind Chris Newsome, who scored nine of his 24 in the fourth. His jumper with 2:41 to go gave the Bolts an 85-84 advantage.
Tenorio made a reverse layup, then Durham knocked down two foul shots for 87-86 Bolts, 1:22 left.
Newsome, however, committed a traveling infraction after Meralco got a stop before Brownlee, fouled by Quinto, made two charities to give Ginebra the lead for good 88-87, 33.3 to go.
Durham found Quinto open at the right side but the rookie forward’s shot was way off. Quinto later fouled Pringle, who made just one of two freebies to put Ginebra ahead 89-87, and an opportunity for Meralco to force overtime on a two-pointer.
Meralco gave it to Durham, who drove to the lane as fast as he could but Aguilar was there to block his layup try, resulting in Brownlee sealing the deal on two free throws for the final count.
Aguilar finished wit 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocks, Tenorio made 14 points after bucking four personal fouls in the third and Pringle 10 points despite a 3-of-14 clip.
Durham registered 25 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists while Raymond Almazan made an immediate impact in his first appearance in a Ginebra-Meralco trilogy, posting 20 points and 13 boards.
Raymond Almazan produced 20 points and 13 rebounds in his Finals debut for Meralco. (PBA Images)
But the Bolts saw little production from the rest of the team, with point guard Baser Amer going 2-of-10 for nine points while failing to dish out a single assist and Quinto 1-of-5 for just three points.
Allein Maliksi also had an off-night, getting all of his two points from the foul line after missing all five attempts.
The scores:
GINEBRA 91 — Brownlee 38, Aguilar 16, Tenorio 14, Pringle 10, Slaughter 8, Thompson 2, Chan 2.
MERALCO 87 — Durham 25, Newsome 24, Almazan 20, Amer 9, Caram 4, Quinto 3, Hodge 0, Faundo 0, Pinto 0.
Quarters: 19-19; 41-37; 71-68; 91-87.
Source: Manila Bulletin
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