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PBA: Brownlee, Tenorio key late surge as Ginebra tops Meralco for 2-0 series lead

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<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/tvpatrol/10/13/ginebra.jpg"/><figcaption>After clawing past Meralco in Game 2 on Sunday, Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra are halfway through wrapping up their best-of-7 finals series. PBA Media Bureau</figcaption></figure></div>Barangay Ginebra has had a long history of playing great with its back against the wall.In Game 2 of the PBA Governors’ Cup finals on Sunday, the defending champs showed what the never-say-die spirit looks like on steroids.Justin Brownlee scored 19 points and LA Tenorio added 14 points, 10 of them coming in the fourth quarter, as Barangay Ginebra rallied late to beat Meralco 86-76 at Araneta Coliseum.Trailing 75-69 with less than 6 minutes to go in the game, Ginebra went on comeback mode, engineering a 17-1 run to close out the game and take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 finals.With much of Ginebra’s success credited to Brownlee and the team’s bigs this conference, it was Tenorio who stood tall in the clutch.His 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down gave Ginebra an 82-76 cushion with 70 seconds remaining.With Meralco hoping to draw closer in the ensuing play, Tenorio forced Baser Amer to a turnover. Tenorio then made two free throws after Allen Durham was forced to foul to stop the clock.“We expected them to come out stronger in this game,” Tenorio said. “Siguro our defense helped our offense talaga.”Durham finished with 25 points and 22 rebounds to lead Meralco, but he was limited to just one field goal in the fourth.“Dagger was really the shot hit by LA Tenorio,” Meralco coach Norman Black said. In that scoring drought that lasted nearly 6 minutes, Meralco missed 11 field-goal attempts, 8 of them from 3-point range.Down 79-75, Meralco could’ve tied the score had the Bolts made free throws, but Ranidel de Ocampo split his charities and Jared Dillinger flubbed both his free-throw tries, setting up the Tenorio 3-pointer.“A lot of things went wrong in the last 3 minutes. We couldn’t make our shots, we couldn’t make our foul shots. These are my guys these are my players am sure they’re trying their best.”Unlike in Game 1, there was no start-to-finish dominance for Ginebra, which was left eating Meralco’s dust for 3 and a half quarters, as the Bolts quickened the pace to compensate for the Gin Kings’ size and length.But when Brownlee, who started cold on offense, started making baskets and Meralco couldn’t score, that’s when the tide turned.Back-to-back buckets by Brownlee made it 75-all, before Tenorio&#x27;s breakaway layup put Ginebra ahead 77-75.Japeth Aguilar added 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Brownlee finished with 13 rebounds and 7 assists.Amer and De Ocampo chipped in 10 points each for Meralco, but the Bolts&#x27; starters struggled again from the field.After shooting 1 of 9 from the floor in Game 1, Dillinger still couldn&#x27;t find the basket in Game 2, shooting just 1 of 7.Meralco, which shot a league-best 37% from 3-point range until the end of the semifinals, made just 5 of 23 from long distance for 23%.For more sports coverage, visit the <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com">ABS-CBN Sports website</a>.

Justin Brownlee scored 19 points and LA Tenorio added 14 points, as Ginebra beat Meralco 86-76 in Game 2 of the PBA Governors' Cup finals on Sunday.

Justin Brownlee scored 19 points and LA Tenorio added 14 points, as Ginebra beat Meralco 86-76 in Game 2 of the PBA Governors' Cup finals on Sunday.