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[av_heading heading=’ Brgy. Ginebra takes Game 1 of PBA Finals ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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LUCENA City – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings drew first blood in the 2017 Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven finals.
With a score of 102-87, it beat Meralco Bolts to take Game 1 last night at the Quezon Convention Center here.
Reinforcement Justin Brownlee led the way with 32 points, 19 rebounds and six assists, while big men Japeth Aguilar and Gregory Slaughter also had their contributions inside to finish with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
It was a seesaw battle for both teams early in the game with the Bolts holding to a slim lead. But the Kings went on a huge run behind Aguilar, Brownlee and Slaughter for a 29-18 lead.
The Kings went on its hot shooting in the second frame for a 40-23 lead after back-to-back triples by Kevin Ferrer.
The Bolts answered with hits from Allen Durham and Ranidel de Ocampo to come to within 35-49 at the half.
The Kings were still up 61-45 early in the third frame on back-to-back layups by LA Tenorio but the Bolts countered with a huge run on triples by Garvo Lanete and Chris Michael Tolomia to come to within 71-75.
The Kings, however, scored consecutive points from Solomon Mercado and Brownlee to open the final frame and build its largest lead of the game at 96-75 on triples by Brownlee and Ferrer.
“The series is still far from over. We just won Game 1,” said Kings head coach Tim Cone. “We have to prepare for Meralco in Game 2. They will surely make some adjustments to get back in the series.”
Durham finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists while Baser Amer and Tolomia had 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bolts, which hoped to bounce back in Game 2 on Sunday night.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 102 – Brownlee 32, J. Aguilar 15, Slaughter 14, Ferrer 11, Tenorio 10, Devance 9, Mercado 7, Thompson 2, Caguioa 2, Mariano 0, R. Aguilar 0, Taha 0.
MERALCO 87 – Durham 27, Amer 14, Tolomia 10, Hodge 8, De Ocampo 8, Newsome 6, Dillinger 6, Lanete 6, Hugnatan 2, Caram 0.
Quarterscores: 29-18, 49-35, 77-71, 102-87./PN
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