PBA: Barangay Ginebra dominates Macau, drops Black Knights to 0-3

Barangay Ginebra opened its PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign on a high note, cruising to a 110-93 victory on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With the win, the Gin Kings got off to a strong start, while the Black Knights dropped to a 0-3 record.

Ginebra held a slim 24-21 edge after the first quarter before breaking the game wide open in the second, unleashing a 39-22 run to build a commanding 63-43 lead at halftime.

From there, the Gin Kings kept Macau at bay the rest of the way to secure their first win of the conference.

“I thought we came with a really good sense of urgency. Justin [Brownlee] did a lot of Justin things today, and RJ [Abarrientos] really stepped up in Scottie’s absence. Honestly, I’m a little bit surprised by a lot of it all, but our guys really worked hard in the preseason with the time that we had, and it showed up in the game,” said Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.

Justin Brownlee led the way with 31 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and two blocks, while RJ Abarrientos added 25 points, seven assists, and six rebounds in the win.

Damian Chongqui paced Macau with 28 points, while Jenning Leung and Phoenix Shackelford chipped in 21 and 18 points, respectively, as the Black Knights absorbed their third straight loss.

Scores:

Barangay Ginebra 110 – Brownlee 31, Abarrientos 25, Holt 13, Rosario 11, Torres 10, Pinto 7, J.Aguilar 6, Cu 3, Abis 2, Gray 2, Go 0, David 0, Estil 0, R.Aguilar 0.

Macau 93 – Chongqui 28, Leung 21, Shackelford 84, Mitchell 14, Chao 5, Lu 4, Cao 3, Li 0.

Quarters: 24-21, 63-43, 84-68, 110-93.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News