MANILA – Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings showed its poise down the stretch to take a 91-87 victory over Meralco Bolts in Game 1 of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Free throws by Justin Brownlee and Stanley Pringle and a huge defensive stop by Japeth Aguilar were the difference maker for the Kings as they erase an 86-87 deficit with under a minute to go.
Brownlee finished the match with 38 points and 16 rebounds, while Aguilar, LA Tenorio and Pringle chipped in 16, 14 and 10 markers, respectively.
The Kings took a 1-0 edge in the best-of-seven titular showdown.
Both teams traded runs in the opening half before the Bolts established its largest lead of the match at 61-51 in the third period. Baskets from Brownlee, however, allowed the Kings to inch closer at 68-71.
In the fourth period, the Kings went to establish an 80-73 edge with Aguilar and Tenorio conniving on offense but the Bolts quickly trimmed it to 80-79 with consecutive shots from Chris Newsome.
Baskets from Aguilar and Pringle gave the Kings some breathing room at 84-79 but the Bolts went on with another rally behind Newsome and Allen Durham to taste the lead for the last time at 87-86.
For the Bolts, Durham finished with triple-double 25 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists, while Newsome and Raymond Almazan added 24 and 20 markers, respectively./PN
