Barangay Ginebra San Miguel cruised to a dominant 121-94 victory over TNT KaTropa to take Game One of their best-of-five Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals showdown on Monday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Justin Brownlee tallied 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals to pace the Gin Kings who had seven players with at least 10 points apiece.
Joe Devance added 19 points, Greg Slaughter made 16 points while Mark Caguioa registered 13 points in just 12 minutes for Ginebra which dictated the whole game.
LA Tenorio, Jervy Cruz and Japeth Aguilar also scored 10 points apiece for the Gin Kings’ balanced attack.
The Gin Kings, who led by as many as 34 points, pulled away in the second half, turning a 60-48 halftime lead into a 95-75 cushion heading into the final frame.
Caguioa sparked a 9-0 run to open the fourth quarter and ice Ginebra’s win.
Glen Rice Jr. scored 26 points and 10 rebounds to lead TNT.
The scores:
GINEBRA 121 – Brownlee 21, Devance 19, Slaughter 16, Caguioa 13, Tenorio 10, Aguilar J. 10, Cruz 10, Thompson 7, Mercado 7, Mariano 4, Taha 4, Helterbrand 0, Aguilar R. 0.
TNT 94 – Rice Jr. 26, Castro 16, Pogoy 12, Tautuaa 7, Carey 6, Nuyles 6, Rosario 5, Williams 5, Semerad 5, Hernandez 3, Reyes 2, Chua 1, Golla 0, Lingganay 0, Seigle 0.
Quarters: 31-22, 60-48, 95-75, 121-94.
