Ginebra falls to Meralco despite Brownlee's triple double

The Meralco Bolts enjoyed the steady shooting of their starters, disposing of Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 93-82, in the elimination round of the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.

Import Arinze Onuaku led Meralco with 24 points and 22 rebounds, but he had a lot of help from the locals. Chris Newsome tallied 22 points, while Jared Dillinger and Anjo Caram chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively. Baser Amer, meanwhile, paced the bench with 10.

Down just seven after a Justin Brownlee jumper at the 8:17 mark of the third period, Ginebra allowed a 9-2 run to give Meralco a 14-point lead midway, 63-49.

With 1:33 remaining in the quarter, Meralco uncorked an 8-0 run that stretched the lead to 17, before Sol Mercado scored on a layup in the dying second to close the third, 73-58.

The GIn Kings struggled to chip away at the lead in the payoff period, coming closest at the 5:07 mark off another Brownlee make, 82-72.

Chris Newsome and Jared Dillinger, however, wouldn’t yield, coming up with a 5-0 run for a comfortable 87-72 edge with 3:54 remaining. An Anjo Caram lay in with 2:27 remaining sealed it for Meralco.

Justin Brownlee tallied 20 points with 16 rebounds and 12 assists to lead Ginebra, but the rest of the team struggled to keep in step. Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson combined for 25, but no other Gin King scored in double figures. Greg Slaughter was limited to eight markers off a 3 of 11 clip, while LA Tenorio and Sol Mercado tallied 13 as a duo.

The win was Meralco’s fourth in six outings, while Barangay Ginebra slid to 1-4 just ahead of winless Blackwater (0-7). — DVM, GMA News