By REYNALD MAGALLON
Barangay Ginebra caught fire from deep and gave Rain or Shine a dose of its own medicine 114-90 to boost its bid for twice-to-beat advantage in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, May 3.
Justin Brownlee set the tone to the hot-shooting of the Kings firing 19 of his in the first half before RJ Abarrientos, Scottie Thompson and Ralph Cu all followed suit to pick up the big win.
Ginebra fired from all cylinders, draining 21 triples on their way to tying ROS at the second spot with similar 8-3 records.
Brownlee nailed six of those treys to go with his eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks while Abarrientos had four triples to finish with 23 points on top of 11 assists.
Thompson was also on target with 17 points built on five treys to go with 16 rebounds while Cu was a huge spark off the bench with 15 points — all from the three-point territory.
More than the offensive explosions, however, it was also a brilliant defensive stand for the Kings, limiting Jaylen Johnson to a new conference-low of 16 points. Adrian Nocum was also checked with only 10 points to show.
Meanwhile in the opening game, Meralco also routed the also-ran Blackwater, 108-93 to also close in on a possible top 4 finish at the end of the eliminations.
Marvin Jones led the charge with 26 points and 12 rebounds while CJ Cansino and Bong Quinto chipped in 12 apiece for the Bolts who improved to a 7-3 record and on solo fourth spot in the standings.
The Bolts survived a big night from Robert Upshaw III who put up 31 points to go with 12 rebounds while Sedrick Barefield chipped in 16.
The Bossing slid to a 2-9 record in the standings.
