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| Justin Brownlee stayed composed despite the Hotshots' late threat. Dennis Jerome Acosta |
By Renee Ticzon
MANILA - The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel finished
strong in an emotional game to prevail against the Magnolia Hotshots, 93-86 at the Smart Araneta
Coliseum in Quezon City, Sunday night.
To open the game, the Hotshots were having quite some
trouble sinking baskets beyond the arc early which Ginebra took advantage of with
their excellent rebounding.
Coming into the third quarter, the Barangay enjoyed a 16-point lead over the Hotshots because
of their good defensive stops.
But Paul Lee gave the Barangay quite a scare with his string of
spectacular offensive stops, bringing their lead to as close as five points. He
finished off with 21 points, alongside Romeo Travis who scored 30.
However, the consistent scoring of Justin Brownlee, backed
up by the sudden outburst of Sol Mercado brought the Hotshot’s comeback to a
halt.
Brownlee bagged an impressive 29 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists; while Sol scored a crucial nine points.
With the win, Ginebra secured a spot in the top four, which gives the team a twice-to-beat advantage for
the quarterfinals.
Box Scores:
Ginebra 93-Brownlee 29, J. Aguilar 17, Slaughter 11, Tenorio 9, Mercado 9, Mariano 6, Thompson 6, Chan 3, Ferrer 3, Caguioa 0, Cruz 0, Caperal 0, R. Aguilar 0, Dela Cruz 0, Manuel 0.
Magnolia 86-Travis 30, Lee 21, Jalalon 12, Barooca 10, Melton 3, Simon 2, Reavis 1, Ramos 0, Mendoza 0, Gamalinda 0, Sangalang 0, Dela Rosa 2, Brondial 0, Pascual 0, Abundo 0, Herndon 0.
Quarter Scores: 24-15, 46-31, 69-53, 93-86
Follow her on Twitter: @rntczn
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