Gin Kings now a win away from the finals
From the PBA website
MANILA -- (UPDATED) No Japeth, no problem.
Barangay Ginebra showed it could still manage NLEX despite playing without Japeth Aguilar, who sat out Game 2 of the PBA Governors Cup semifinals due to a calf injury.
The defending champions showed its might and hammered out a 104-94 win despite a gritty stand by the Road Warriors.
Ginebra got significant numbers from Justin Brownlee, Scottie Thompson, Christian Standhardinger and LA Tenorio, offsetting the absence of Aguilar.
Brownlee had 32 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists, while Thompson and Standhardinger each had 17 markers. Tenorio was also potent on Friday night with 15 points.
Ginebra managed to climb out of an 11-point deficit by raining threes in the third quarter for a searing run.
Helping the cause was the pro-Ginebra crowd who filled up the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Gin Kings also did a good job on holding down Cameron Clark to just 15 points.
With the win, Ginebra now holds a commanding 2-0 series lead, while putting NLEX to the brink of elimination.
The two squads will meet again on Sunday as the Kings gun for a sweep of the semis.
The scores:
Ginebra 104 - Brownlee 32, Thompson 17, Standhardinger 17, Tenorio 15, Devance 7, Pinto 10, Tolentino 6, 3, Caperal 0, Chan 0, Ayaay 0.
NLEX 94 - Nieto 19, Clark 15, Chua 12, Alas 12, Rosales 10, Trollano 10, Quinahan 8, Semerad 3, Ighalo 3, Paniamogan 2.
Quarters: 24-27, 55-49, 82-66, 104-94