Justin Brownlee buries familiar dagger vs. Meralco as Ginebra goes 2-0

Justin Brownlee broke Meralco's heart anew, knocking down the game-winning triple to carry Barangay Ginebra 104-103, in Game 2 of their best-of-five quarterfinals affair on Saturday in the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Ginebra's resident import buried the long bomb with 10.1 seconds left in the game against the defense of his counterpart Allen Durham, giving Ginebra a 2-0 series lead in the race-to-three series. 

He finished with 39 points, highlighted by the game-winning shot similar to what he took to win it for Ginebra during the 2016 Governors' Cup finals against the same team, while also grabbing seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. 

Before that, Ginebra had to rally after Durham converted seven straight points capped by a three-point play opportunity that sent the Bolts to a slim 103-101 cushion with 1:22 left. 

Brownlee then came alive on both ends, securing the defensive rebound off a Durham miss before nailing the dagger three-pointer. 

Scottie Thompson also came up big, posting 19 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal, and one block while Maverick Ahanmisi chipped in 15 markers, four boards, and three dimes. 

"Yes, it was very reminiscent of the play in 2016. It's great, I'm glad we performed this way in front of the fans on a Saturday night," Ginebra coach Tim Cone said. 

"Tonight, we jumped on the broad shoulders of Justin and we 've done that many times in the past but we also have a realization that we can't do that every night and we've got to be able to do better in our next game."

Scores:

Barangay Ginebra 104 – Brownlee 39, Thompson 19, Ahanmisi 15, Abarrientos 11, J.Aguilar 11, Holt 6, Cu 3, Devance 0, Tenorio 0, Pinto 0, R.Aguilar 0.

Meralco 103 – Durham 39, Newsome 23, Hodge 15, Quinto 8, Bates 7, Mendoza 6, Banchero 3, Pasaol 2, Caram 0, Rios 0, Almazan 0.

Quarters : 28-21, 48-41, 79-75, 104-103.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News