Barangay San Miguel outlasted Manila Clasico rival Star Hotshots, 105-101, in an overtime thriller to extend its winning streak in the Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Import Justin Brownlee spearheaded the Gin Kings attack with 33 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals as Ginebra won its sixth straight game to improved to 6-1 and move closer to a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs.
Joe Devance had a near triple-double of 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as Greg Slaughter also made 17 points and 10 rebounds in front of 15,235 fans who witnessed the classic match live at the venue.
Ginebra survived despite having an atrocious night from the free throw line, shooting 12 out of 30 attempts.
The Gin Kings’ misses kept the Hotshots alive in a game which went back-and-forth from start to finish.
The Hotshots looked to pull away after a Malcolm Hill breakaway slam gave them a 90-86 lead with 2:25 left.
But a tough Brownlee layup followed by a clutch Devance triple handed the lead back to the Gin Kings with 1:15 left.
Referees then failed to whistle a goaltending call on Rafi Reavis’ layup. But he made two free throws. Brownlee answered quickly to put Ginebra on top, 93-92.
That was when the Gin Kings were haunted by their free throw woes. Instead of icing the game, Scottie Thompson had two bad misses from the line, and while Japeth Aguilar made a huge offensive board, Brownlee only sank one out of his two attempts.
After misses by Malcolm Hill and Allein Maliksi, Devance had an opportunity to seal the win. But he managed to just hit one out of two free throws as Ginebra held a slim 95-92 lead with two seconds left.
Hill then drew a foul from Aguilar while attempting a triple. He was able to drill all of the clutch free throws to force overtime.
But the Hotshots’ hero in regulation failed to save them in extra period as he fouled out with 54 seconds left. Star then couldn’t hit a basket against the Gin Kings’ defense as free throw splits from Brownlee and Devance gave Ginebra a 103-101 lead.
Brownlee’s dagger layup with five seconds left settled the final score.
Hill tallied 28 points and 12 rebounds to lead Star (4-2) which dropped its second straight game.
The scores:
GINEBRA 105 – Brownlee 33, Devance 17, Slaughter 17, Tenorio 13, Aguilar 12, Thompson 7, Ferrer 4, Taha 2, Mercado 0, Cruz 0.
STAR 101 – Hill 28, Lee 22, Barroca 14, Ramos 11, Sangalang 10, Reavis 10, Maliksi 4, Jalalon 2, Melton 0, Simon 0, Pingris 0.
Quarters: 21-25, 40-45, 73-70, 95-95, 105-101.
