DASMARINAS, Cavite — Make it 2-1 for Barangay Ginebra.

With import Justin Brownlee and Stephen Holt making things happen, Ginebra brought down San Miguel Beer, 99-94, to take a 2-1 lead in their PBA Governors Cup semifinals series at the Dasmarinas City Arena here Sunday.

Brownlee, the team’s most trusted man on offense, teamed-up with Holt to deliver six of the Kings’ last eight points and help them escape with another heart-stopping victory and a crucial 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven showdown.

Brownlee finished with 30 points, nine rebounds, five assists, and five blocks for Ginebra, which avenged a heart-breaking 125-131 overtime loss to San Miguel only last Friday.

The 36-year-old Gilas Pilipinas mainstay also delivered the knockout punch: a pressure-laden basket that gave the Kings a 97-90 lead.

Veteran Japeth Agilar added 22 points and eight rebounds, while Maverick Ahanmisi contributed 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Tim Cone-mentored Gin Kings.

Holt had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Ginebra.

“We had some uncertain moments in the third quarter, when we came out of halftime,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.

“But thanks to this guy here (Brownlee) we recovered and thanks to this guy again down the stretch we were able to win it,” added Cone.

“We defended so much better tonight. We played playoff defense tonight and I thought that was really the key.”

EJ Anosike led the Beermen with 32 points on 10-of-24 shooting, and 10 rebounds.

CJ Perez added 13 points, six assists and four rebounds while Marcio Lassiter had 12 points and five assists.

Eight-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo had 12 points and 14 rebounds.

Ginebra will now gun for a commanding 3-1 lead when Game 4 of the series is played at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

The scores:

Ginebra (99) — Brownlee 30, J.Aguilar 22, Ahanmisi 15, Holt 11, Abarrientos 8, Thompson 8, Cu 5, Adamos 0, Devance 0
San Miguel (94) — Anosike 32, Perez 13, Fajardo 12, Lassiter 12, Cruz 9, Romeo 8, Trollano 3, Ross 3, Tautuaa 2, Rosales 0.
Quarterscores: 25-20, 54-45, 76-72, 99-94.

Games Wednesday:

(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m.– TNT vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs. San Miguel

The results:

Game 1 — Ginebra 122, San Miguel 105.
Game 2 — San Miguel 131, Ginebra 125.
Game 3 — Ginebra 99, San Miguel 94
(Ginebra leads series, 2-1)

AUTHOR PROFILE

Robert Andaya