Christian Standhardinger. PBA . IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines-Barangay Ginebra broke into the top four although some of their top players were tired of Gilas Pilipinas’ duties after edging past Meralco, 112-107, in Wednesday’s PBA Governors’ Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Justin Brownlee, Christian Standhardinger and Jeremiah Gray hit big hits in the long run as the Gin Kings got their fifth win in seven games on the night LA Tenorio’s record ended at 744 in a row.
Ginebra prevailed even though Brownlee, Scottie Thompson and Jamie Malonzo were dropped 48 hours from replacing Gilas in the sixth window of the Fiba World Cup Asia Qualifiers.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the three of them for coming out on the pitch and going deep, continuing to play and lead the team,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, who is also leaving his role as Gilas’ assistant. know.
“But we also said that we would need other people to lean on. And lo and behold—Nards [Pinto]Miah (Grey) and Christian — they were three key players who played well,” added Cone.
Standhardinger continued his strong offensive play since Japeth Aguilar’s injury with 31 points with 10 rebounds and 7 assists while Brownlee scored 29 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists.
Gray and Pinto each scored 12, Malonzo had 16, 4 rebounds and 2 steals while Thompson added 7 points, 6 bounces and 10 assists.
Import KJ McDaniels’ 28 points failed to deliver a third straight win for Meralco, which fell to 5-4.
Meralco took the lead for most of the competition, peaking at 10 in the first half, but Ginebra once again found a way to take control.
Brownlee and Gray took most of the shots in the final four minutes as Ginebra was able to push past a 97th draw. Brownlee scored five in a row while Gray hit three in a row as the Gin Kings led 98-92 when less than a minute left.
Scores:
GINEBRA 112 — Standhardinger 31, Brownlee 29, Malonzo 16, Gray 12, Pinto 12, Thompson 7, Pringle 5, Dillinger 0.
MERALCO 107 — McDaniels 28, Maliksi 23, Newsome 15, Black 14, Hodge 10, Quinto 10, Banchero 5, Almazan 2, Caram 0, Jose 0.
Rounds: 32-37, 54-61, 76-80, 112-107.
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