Brumfield powers Gin Kings to come-from-behind win over Gilas

Nate Brumfield held his own against the bigger and stronger Marcus Douthit, powering Barangay Ginebra past Pilipinas-Smart Gilas in a 97-96 come-from-behind win in Game 1 of their PBA Commissioner's Cup semifinals showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Friday night. Despite getting outplayed by the 6-foot-11 naturalized Filipino inside the paint, the undersized Ginebra import matched the towering Douthit point by point and got the better end of his match-up by coming through with clutch baskets and big plays in the endgame. The 6-foot-2 look-alike of teammate Willie Miller scored the Kings' last five points, including a completed three-point play off a Marcio Lassiter foul in the final 18.3 seconds that put the league's most popular ballclub on top for good, 97-95. Ginebra tries to post a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series when Game 2 is played Sunday also at the Big Dome. Brumfield matched Douthit's total output of 31 points and grabbed the offensive rebound off Miller's two missed free throws in the last 4.4 seconds, preserving the win for the Kings. Mark Caguioa topped all Ginebra locals with 16 points, and together with Brumfield, initiated the Kings' rally from an 82-88 deficit in the final four minutes of play. "We're older, we're smarter, we're vets. They're younger and have the fresh legs. But that doesn't mean they can outrun us. That doesn't mean hindi namin sila kayang sabayan," said Caguioa. Douthit had a chance to tie the game with 5.1 seconds left, with Smart Gilas trailing by two. But Douthit, a 46 percent free throw shooter, missed the front end of his foul shot before making the second to cut the deficit to 96-97. In all, Douthit was 5-of-12 from the 15-foot line. The Nationals then deliberately fouled Miller and the Ginebra guard appeared ready to wrap things up for the Kings. But he also flubbed both attempts, before Brumfield came to the Kings' rescue by grabbing the offensive board. Mac Baracael finished with 21 points for Smart Gilas, while Mark Barroca had 15 as the two conspired early in the fourth, allowing the Nationals to take control of the match, 77-74, on a Baracael three-pointer. The Nationals last tasted the lead at 95-94 on a split by Chris Tiu, who had 12 points. The Kings, meanwhile, will be missing the services of Yancy De Ocampo in Game 2 as the Ginebra big man is expected to be suspended and slapped a P20,000 fine after committing a flagrant foul 2 against Douthit. De Ocampo was thrown out in the 3:23 mark of the second quarter when he tried to elbow Douthit on the face. - JVP, KY, GMA News