Barangay Ginebra survives late TNT rally to even series in Game 2 of PBA Finals

Barangay Ginebra survived a late TNT rally, 71-70, to even the series at 1-1 in Game 2 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena.

TNT was leading 70-67 before Justin Brownlee's late game efforts handed Barangay Ginebra the victory.

At the 2:04 mark, Brownlee had a layup to inch closer, 70-69, before his free throws off an RR Pogoy foul gave Barangay Ginebra the lead as they contained Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the last seconds of the game to claim the win.

Earlier, Barangay Ginebra limited TNT to just four points in the second period against their 11-point output to lead 32-19 at the end of the first half.

The 71-70 result also became the lowest scoring game in a PBA Finals series since Game 1 of the 2005 Fiesta Conference, where San Miguel won against TNT, 74-66. 

For Brownlee, who registered 35 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks, and a steal, defense was the key for Barangay Ginebra to change the narrative of the series. 

"Tonight it was definitely our defense, got to give a lot of credit to Steven and Jamie. They did an incredible job, but also our team defense, I think it was really good, trying to stay home on their shooters, not let them get too many open shots, especially in transition. So I think it was just all around a great team effort on defense for the team, but especially just got to give a lot of credit to Jamie [Malonzo] and Stephen [Holt]. They played incredible defense on RHJ the whole night," said Brownlee.

Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone, meanwhile, said his team showed grit in the series-tying game.

"These guys just showed true grit all the way through the game, and we knew that we were going to have a chance in this series. We were going to have to show that character and that true grit, and just really reach deep to make two stops down the stretch that were really incredible stops, and that's just the way we're going to have to play to have a chance in this series," Cone said.

Aside from Brownlee, Scottie Thompson had 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, and a block, while Japeth Aguilar had eight points and eight rebounds.

RHJ, meanwhile, had 25 points, 15 boards, two assists, two blocks, and a steal in the TNT loss, while Rey Nambatac and Pogoy had 14 and 11 points, respectively.

TNT took Game 1 of the finals, 95-89.

Scores:

Barangay Ginebra 71 – Brownlee 35, Thompson 16, J.Aguilar 8, Holt 7, Rosario 2, Ahanmisi 2, Malonzo 0, Cu 0.

TNT 70 – Hollis-Jefferson 25, Nambatac 14, Pogoy 11, Erram 6, Oftana 5, Khobuntin 4, Williams 2, Razon 2, Aurin 1, Heruela 0.

Quarters: 21-15, 32-19, 54-45, 71-70.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News