TRUE to its never-say-die spirit, Barangay Ginebra won’t just go away easily in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
The Kings went off to a hot start and sustained it the rest of the way for an emphatic 125-101 victory over TnT Katropa in Game Three to stay alive in the best-of-five series Thursday night.
The trio of import Justine Brownlee, Japeth Aguialr, and Scottie Thompson found their range early on to help the Kings set the tempo of the match and scored the most lopsided outcome so far of the series.
Ginebra, which got a major boost with cage icon and former playing-coach Robert Jaworski in attendance at courtside of the Smart Araneta Coliseum, has now trimmed the deficit to 2-1, with the chance of tying the series with another win in Game 4 on Saturday at the Astrodome.
“It helps a lot when make shots, and we made shots today,” admitted coach Tim Cone. “And when we make shots our offense is a lot difference and it kind of spill on our defense.”
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The Kings had also gotten a big break when TnT import Joshua Smith hurt the pinkie on his right foot at the 6:54 mark of the second period.
The 300-lbs Smith never returned back and made his way out of the Big Dome during the payoff quarter of the lopsided match.
He finished with only four points and seven rebounds in nine minutes of action after scoring a league-best 35 markers in the Texters’ Game Two win.
Cone admitted Smith’s absence somehow also changed the complexion of the game in Ginebra’s favor.
“Obviously the easy thing to say is that the import didn’t get much minutes tonight,” he said. “We don’t know what’s going on with him exactly.”
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“Bottom line is that we still haven’t done anything.”
Brownlee finished with a game-high 31 points including 17 in the opening half, and had 11 rebounds, while Thompson and Aguilar combined for 32 markers for a Ginebra side which led by as many as 53-33 late in the second period.
Guard RR Garcia had 16 points in a losing effort for the Texters, whose only other players to finish in double figures were Mo Tautuaa (15) and Harvey Carey (11).
