By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Super import Justin Brownlee single-handedly crushed the NLEX Road Warriors after exploding for 47 huge points and led the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to a 112-93 semifinals series win and another PBA Governor’s Cup grand finals appearance.
There was no stopping Brownlee after immediately hitting the 20-point mark in just two quarters off acrobatic layups and contested three-point shots that sparked the whole Ginebra team.
What was more impressive was his efficient shooting percentage from the field, sinking 17 of his 24 total shot attempts including a 6/10 shooting from the three-point line.
“Life sure is a lot easier with Justin Brownlee around. You could kind of see it coming because you could see the intensity he had in practice yesterday, and before the game, even at halftime. You knew that he’d have a big performance,” said Ginebra head coach Tim Cone.
The Road Warriors looked to blow the game wide-open again just like they did during Game 1 when they quickly built a nine-point lead in the first quarter.
However, Negrense sniper Jeff Chan delivered when his team needed him the most after scoring eight out of Ginebra’s first 11 points.
The veteran shooter and former Gilas Pilipinas staple caught fire early in the game and ended the Game 4 win with 20 points off his 5/8 shooting from downtown.
NLEX’s Cameron Clark had another solid outing of 34 points and 12 rebounds but needed more locals to score as Don Trollano and Justin Chua were the only players to score double-digits, 15 and 10 respectively, aside from Clark.
Meanwhile, Ginebra’s balanced offensive attack was still in full display as LA Tenorio’s 14, John Pinto’s 12, and Christian Standhardinger’s 10 joined Brownlee and Chan in the double-digit scoring column.
