Barangay Ginebra squandered a 15-point second half lead but recovered just in time to hold off Meralco, 99-91, and take Game 1 of their quarterfinals series in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 26.

Justin Brownlee came up huge in the waning minutes and delivered the crucial hits to preside over a telling 14-5 spurt and finally shake off the Bolts for a 1-0 lead in the series that so far has lived up to the expectations as another enthralling chapter to their storied rivalry.

Brownlee fired 10 of his game-high 29 points in the final frame when Ginebra lost grip of the once 66-51 lead in the third frame and suddenly trailed by one 77-78 midway through the final period.

He did a little bit of everything, also collecting 13 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block while Scottie Thompson provided support with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Stephen Holt also had 14 points while Japeth Aguilar chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds. 

Scoreless in the entire eliminations, Ralph Cu was also a spark off the bench for Ginebra, finishing with nine points – highlighted by the timely triple that gave the lead back to the Kings, 80-78, in the final frame.

The Kings slowly but surely regained their footing from there, pulling off the necessary stops to fuel the telling run that allowed them to reestablish a 95-85 lead with 2:50 left.

Meralco, though, did not go down without a fight as it still threatened late, cutting the lead down to just five, 97-92, only to get the door shut on them by Brownlee's free throws.

Cliff Hodge, the newly minted Defensive Player of the Year, showed that he also had the offensive game to lead Meralco with 23 points while Chris Newsome added 20 points and six assists.

Allen Durham, however, in his first meeting this conference with Ginebra which dealt him three Finals heartbreaks in the past, struggled offensively with only 17 points to show although he had 13 rebounds and three steals.

The Scores :

GINEBRA 99 – Brownlee 29, Thompson 19, Holt 14, J.Aguilar 10, Cu 9, Abarrientos 8, Ahanmisi 8, Devance 2, R.Aguilar 0.

MERALCO 92 – Hodge 23, Newsome 20, Durham 17, Banchero 11, Quinto 10, Caram 6, Almazan 5, Rios 0, Mendoza 0, Bates 0, Cansino 0, Jose 0.

QUARTERS :  28-24, 53-43, 73-71, 99-92