DEFENDING champion Barangay Ginebra is now safely back in the semis.

Long-time rival, TNT, is out.

Ginebra brought down TNT, 115-95, in a lopsided battle to clinch a semifinal round berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings swept the Tropang Giga in their two-game qurterfinal series.

And the Gin Kings have import Justine Brownlee to thank for.

Brownlee finished with 29 points on a remarkable 46-percent shooting from the field, and added 18 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Gin Kings.
Japeth Aguilar added 26 points and seven rebounds, LA Tenorio contributed 22 points, six rebounds, and six assists, and Scottie Thompson added a near triple-double with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.

Brownlee, the 2018 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Import awardee, proved virtually unstoppable as he led Ginebra’s 10-2 run that included a tough fadeaway jumper that beat the buzzer to turn a close contest into a rout.

Ginebra led, 59-46, at the half.

But the Gin Kings did not stop from there, with Tenorio hitting a baseline jumper to push their lead to as much as 23 points, 75-52, with 7:04 remaining.

Mikey Williams carried the fight for the Tropang Giga with 17 points and six assists.

But import Leon Gilmore III managed only 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting, five assists nd four rebounds in 36 minutes.

Later, NLEX eliminated Alaska Milk, 96-80; in their knockout duel to claim the fourth semis berth and join top seed Magnolia, No. 4 Meralco and No. 6 Ginebra in the next round.

Import Cameron Clark finished with 24 points to help NLEX’s second-quarter breakaway for the victory.

Alaska bowed out of contention in its final conference in Asia’s first play-for-pay league.

Meanwhile, PBA will start accepting applications for the 47th Season Annual Draft on March 21, 2022, the PBA Commissioner’s Office announced last Thursday.

Deadline for submission of application is May 2, 2022.

The 47th Season Annual Draft is set on May 15, 2022.

Local applicants need only to submit a copy of their birth certificates while Fil-foreign players are required to submit a valid passport in lieu of the Bureau of Immigration Certificate of Recognition and the Department of Justice’s Affirmation.

The Annual Draft is open to players who are 22 years-old and above or 19 years of age with a minimum two years of college education.

The scores:

First game
Ginebra (115) — Brownlee 29, J.Aguilar 26, Tenorio 22, Thompson 17, Standhardinger 10, Pinto 7, Chan 4, Ayaay 0, Enriquez 0, Caperal 0.
TNT (95) — M. Williams 17, Gilmore III 14, Castro 12, Erram 11, K.Williams 10, Pogoy 9, Rosario 7, Khobuntin 5, Montalbo 4, Cruz 3, Reyes 3, Marcelo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0
Quarterscores:25-29, 59-48, 96-74, 115-95.

Second game
NLEX (96) — Clark 24, Quinahan 12, Rosales 12, Chua 10, Nieto 10, Trollano 9, Alas 7, Soyud 7, Varilla 3, Ighalo 2, Murrell 0, Paniamogan 0, Semerad 0.
Alaska (80) — Saint Fort 14, Teng 13, DiGregorio 11, Tolomia 11, Bulanadi 8, Taha 8, Tratter 6, Ilagan 5, Ahanmisi 4, , Racal 0, Faundo 0.
Quarterscores: 21-20, 46-31, 71-52, 96-80.