PBA: Justin Brownlee saves day as Barangay Ginebra escapes Converge

Justin Brownlee rescued Barangay Ginebra in their 99-93 escape against the struggling Converge on Sunday in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The resident import dropped 22 points in second half to finish with 33 points together with 10 rebounds, and four assists while RJ Abarrientos led the local support with 32 markers, three boards and four dimes as the Gin Kings improved to 2-1.

Troy Rosario delivered a double-double outing of 10 points and 13 rebounds, helping hand the FiberXers their fourth straight loss and dropping them to a 1-4 record.

"It was a much stronger finish than we had in our last game. We felt like we blew a one game in the last game," Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said. 

"You know, you lose on a Friday then you had to play on a Sunday, it's a lot of pressure to come out and play because you're not fresh so it's a really big challenge for us coming here."

Ginebra was playing catch-up until Brownlee flaunted his vintage form in the second half, burying back-to-back triples to trim the gap to two in the third period, 62-64, before Abarrientos hit a stepback three-pointer that gave them their first lead at 69-68. 

Nards Pinto then made the most of his minutes, firing two triples to help Ginebra seize an 81-74 cushion entering the fourth quarter. 

Another pair of baskets from Brownlee gave Ginebra a 92-85 lead, but Converge staged a fightback after Mikey Williams sank two consecutive triples and Justine Baltazar hit an and-one bucket to regain a 93-92 advantage. 

Down again by two, 93-95, Converge had a an opportunity to tie or even take the lead, but Alec Stockton turned the ball over on an inbound play. On the next possession, his defense on Brownlee faltered, allowing the latter to push Ginebra ahead 97–93 with 9.2 seconds left.

Brownlee then shot two charities to close out the game. 

Converge, which was missing a number of key players in Juan Gomez de Liaño and Justin Arana, was led by Baltazar, who dropped 20 points and seven rebounds while Williams and MJ Garcia chipped in 16 and 15 markers each. 

Scores:

Barangay Ginebra 99 – Brownlee 33, Abarrientos 32, Rosario 10, Holt 9, Pinto 7, Thompson 6, Go 2, Cu 0, Torres 0, Estil 0, Gray 0.

Converge 93 – Baltazar 20, Williams 16, Garcia 15, Kelley 13, Stockton 9, Policarpio 9, Concepcion 8, Muyang 3, Reyson 0.

Quarters: 28-30, 42-49, 81-74, 99-93.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News