Ginebra regains touch, takes down TNT to even Finals series


At a glance

  • That exactly summed up the story of the Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals as the Kings took a 106-92 victory over the Tropang Giga to even the series at 2-all on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.


Shot clock winding down. Ginebra scampering to get a good shot. Then Justin Brownlee suddenly found a lane for a one-handed dunk.

That exactly summed up the story of the Game 4 of the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup Finals as the Kings took a 106-92 victory over the Tropang Giga to even the series at 2-all on Sunday, Nov. 3, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

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Justin Brownlee saves the day for Barangay Ginebra. (PBA Images)

Simply put, it was the better offense for Ginebra this time against the lack of the once solid defense for TNT.

After struggling for the first two games and perhaps the last three and a half quarters of Game 3, Brownlee went off and only needed three frames to score 30 points.

He had 34 at the end of the game, including that dunk that proved to be the icing on the cake to his splendid performance that also featured six rebounds and four steals.

Maverick Ahanmisi and Japeth Aguilar had 18 points apiece with the former firing a critical four-pointer late, and the latter proving to be a huge part of the improved Kings defense especially against the tireless Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.

Stephen Holt was also a revelation on the offensive end, cashing in 18 points after being barely felt in the last three games – much to the delight of the Ginebra fans in the season-best attendance of 16,783.

And then there was Ginebra’s defense.

The Kings limited the Tropa to just 15 points in the final frame with no one outside Hollis-Jefferson and Calvin Oftana becoming a legitimate threat throughout the ball game that saw Ginebra protect a double-digit lead for the most part.

Hollis-Jefferson, in another almost no relief effort, finished with 28 points, nine rebounds and four assists while Oftana had 26 built on four triples.