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Ginebra rallies in third, pulls away in fourth to win "Clasico" clash with Star

PBA

By Ivan Saldajeno

QUEZON CITY--Ginebra completed a comeback from a 17-point deficit in the first half to clobber Star, 116-103, in the latest chapter of their "Manila Clasico" rivalry in front of 16,460 PBA fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday night.

The Hotshots went berserk early on, going on a 15-2 run to start the game and later led, 49-32, in the second quarter before settling for a 58-50 halftime advantage.

But the Barangay turned things around in the second half, going for an 11-0 run in the third quarter to take the lead, 70-67.

Star stayed close later in the period and even tied the game, 76-all, but a layup by Jervy Cruz before the third quarter buzzer put Ginebra back up, 78-76.

That shot ignited an 8-0 run by his lonesome that helped the Barangay pull away for good in the final quarter, even leading by 19 points late in the quarter.

Justin Brownlee scored 38 points on 16 of 26 shots with eight rebounds, two assists, and one block for Ginebra, which joined Mahindra in joint second place at 6-2.

Japeth Aguilar added 21 points capped by two alley-oop slams off LA Tenorio feeds, while Scottie Thompson contributed 10 rebounds featuring a tip-in against taller Star players along with six points.

Joel Wright led Star, which slipped to 1-6, with 31 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, and four steals.

Box Scores:

Ginebra 116-Brownlee 38, Aguilar 21, Mercado 14, Tenorio 13, Cruz 8, Caguioa 8, Thompson 6, Marcelo 4, Mariano 2, Devance 2, Helterbrand 0

Star 103-Wright 31, Simon 22, Pingris 13, Garcia 10, Barroca 9, Yap 9, Melton 5, Sangalang 2, Maliksi 2, Reavis 0, Pascual 0

Quarterscores: 21-33, 50-58, 78-76, 116-103

Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno