Justin Brownlee fired 28 points as Barangay Ginebra gave its millions of Filipino fans a fitting Christmas gift in the form of a 96-81 win over the Bay Area Dragons Sunday night in Game 1 of the 2022-203 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The 6’6” Brownlee struck hardest in the last period, knocking in 10 points during a Christmas Day game witnessed by a crowd of 18,252.
Point guard LA Tenorio added 22 points in helping Ginebra score its second straight win over Dragons, whom they beat, 111-93, during the eliminations.
“Playing on Christmas Day is a little overwhelming. Today’s game? It does not win us a championship and it does not lose a championship for Bay Area. But bottom line is, we got the first step. And that’s the crucial point,” said Gin Kings’ coach Tim Cone.
The Kings banked on Tenorio, Brownlee, and Christian Standhardinger in turning the tables in the second period.
With the Kings trailing, 26-34, Tenorio unloaded two triples as he, Brownlee and Standhardinger conspired in a 15-0 run that gave Ginebra a 41-34 edge with 2:41 before the first half ended.
Brownlee and Scottie Thompson then combined for 16 points in the third period as Ginebra stayed on top, 72-64.
Brownlee, the 34-year-old, recently naturalized Filipino, banged in 10 points in the final canto, with his driving layup in the remaining 2:02 handing Ginebra their biggest edge at 15, 92-74.
Andrew Nicholson made 27 points for the Dragons, including nine points in the third, where the Kings continued to set the tempo.
It was the Dragons’ lowest output this conference after their 89-92 loss to the Meralco Bolts during the elims.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 96—Brownlee 28, Tenorio 22, Standhardinger 16, Thompson 14, J.Aguilar 6, Pringle 5, Malonzo 3, Gray 2, Pessumal 0, R.Aguilar 0, Mariano 0
BAY AREA 81—Nicholson 27 Ynag 12, Zhu 12, Lam 11, Ju 6, Song 5, Blankley 4, Liu 2, Zheng 2, Reid 0
QUARTERS: 22-25, 45-40, 72-64, 96-81