Defending champion Barangay Ginebra gets a shot to defend its crown after dispatching TNT, 115-105, in Game 4 of their best-of-5 semifinals series in the PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings arranged a finals rematch with Meralco starting Friday at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.
Justin Brownlee anchored Ginebra’s fourth-quarter surge to finish with 46 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
The Gin Kings trailed in the first three quarters after TNT, despite playing without import Glen Rice Jr., built leads of as many as 18.
But Ginebra’s relentless pursuit paid dividends in the fourth quarter as a Brownlee-led 24-8 run coincided with the KaTropa’s shooting going ice cold, firing a paltry 2-of-20 clip in the first eight minutes of the period.
Ginebra took a 104-94 lead with 4:07 left to play punctuated by a three from LA Tenorio before Greg Slaughter iced the game with a huge slam to give coach Tim Cone his 32nd finals appearance.
“We were just fortunate that Glen Rice went out. But it was still a great game; they were making shots. It was quite a frustrating first half,” said Cone.
Rice Jr. was ejected with 1:41 remaining in the opening frame after incurring a flagrant foul penalty one and a technical for throwing the ball to a fallen Kevin Ferrer.
Troy Rosario topscored for TNT with 28 points and 10 rebounds, while Jayson Castro carried the mantle with a near triple-double performance of 26 markers, nine assists, and seven boards in a losing effort.