Justin Brownlee exploded for a career-high 50 points as the Barangay Ginebra Kings escaped the Columbian Dyip in overtime, 127-123, in the 2019 PBA Commissioner's Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ginebra extended its win streak to three games and finished the elimination round in fourth place with a 7-4 record. Columbian, on the other hand, settled for eleventh place with three wins and eight losses.
Brownlee dominated anew with 50 points, 14 rebounds, five assists, four steals, and four blocks. The Kings' import set a personal scoring record for the second straight game, surpassing his 49-point output last week.
"That might be the best non-bearing game in PBA history," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. "Whether we won or lost, we were going to be the fourth seed. But we really wanted to just try to continue our momentum, try to continue to integrate Stanley [Pringle] in what we're doing, and work on our defense."
Already eliminated heading into the match, the Dyip still fought hard to give the Kings a real scare.
Lester Prosper took charge in the last few minutes of regulation to put Columbian ahead by a slim margin. They were still ahead by two with 11 ticks left but Pringle hit a last-second floater to force overtime.
It was a back-and-forth affair in the extra session, highlighted by an exchange of triples between Brownlee and Prosper in the final minute. Brownlee quickly followed it up with a crucial jumper, which the Dyip no longer had an answer for.
Four more Ginebra players finished in double digits, led by Japeth Aguilar and Pringle who dropped 20 and 16 points, respectively.
Prosper set his own career-high of 45 points and 18 rebounds for Columbian in the conference-ending loss.
THE SCORES
Ginebra 127 - Brownlee 50, Aguilar 20, Pringle 16, Tenorio 15, Thompson 12, Slaughter 9, Devance 3, Mariano 2, Caguioa 0.
Columbian 123 - Prosper 45, Perez 20, Khobuntin 17, McCarthy 14, Cahilig 11, Escoto 9, Celda 4, Camson 3, Reyes 0, King, Faundo 0.
Quarterscores: 23-33, 55-51, 85-82, 113-113, 127-123.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
- Scottie Thompson, Stanley Pringle, and LA Tenorio combined for 21 of Ginebra's 33 assists in the win.
- Ginebra remains the only team that Columbian has not defeated in the PBA. The Dyip are 0-14 against the Kings.
- Depending on the results of the other teams' remaining games, Ginebra can face Magnolia or San Miguel in a best-of-three quarterfinals.