Brownlee career-high 51 points gives SMB its first loss
Justin Brownlee may have erased doubters by setting a new career high in his stint with Asia’s first and oldest pay-for-play league.
The 36-year-old floor general erupted for 51 points to set his new career high in the PBA, leading Ginebra and snapping the resurgence of the San Miguel Beermen in the 49th Season Governors’ Cup, 108-102 on Tuesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Brownlee took over in the second half in the second half of play, especially in the fourth quarter where the Gin Kings outscored the Beermen 34-23 to have a better grasp of the victory.
The 3-time best import sealed the game with a win-sealing layup to give Ginebra its first win of the new season after dropping their first game against Rain or Shine in Candon, Ilocos Sur.
Brownlee also added 13 rebounds, six steals and five assists as he bounced back from his flat performance in their out-of-town game last Saturday.
Japeth Aguilar led the local unit in scoring as he dropped 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field while rookie RJ Abarrientos redeemed himself from his 1-of-15 shooting in his PBA debut game by scoring 13 points on 5-of-12 from the field to go with five assists.
SMB import Jordan Adams who scored 50 points in their last game, led the Beermen in scoring with 23 (15 in the 1st half). Four local players also scored in double-digit for San Miguel with June Mar Fajardo contributing 17, CJ Perez 14, Terrence Romeo 13 and Jeron Teng 12.
It was a close battle between the two teams as they closed the first quarter with 24-all, and closed the half with 46-all deadlock.
The Beermen took the lead at the end of the third period 79-74 behind Teng’s 12 points and Romeo adding seven while the whole team hit 66-percent from the field against the Gin Kings 47.4 percent.
But in the fourth and final period, Ginebra made their counter attack including the two consecutive baskets made by Aguilar to tie the game at 102, and added six more to finally seal the game.
The Scores:
GINEBRA 108 - Brownlee 51, J.Aguilar 21, Abarrientos 13, Thompson 7, Holt 5, Ahanmisi 4, Go 4, Tenorio 3, Cu 0, Adamos 0, Garcia 0.
SAN MIGUEL 102 - Adams 23, Fajardo 17, Perez 14, Romeo 13, Teng 12, Ross 5, Rosales 4, Trollano 4, Cruz 4, Manuel 4, Tautuaa 2, Lassiter 0.
QUARTERS: , 24-24, 46-46, 74-79, 108-102
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Jayson Castro scored 16 points and made an immediate impact in his first game of the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup.
Castro added three steals and two assists in his return to help TNT Tropang Giga get the 109-93 victory over the Blackwater Bossing on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The nine-time PBA champion missed TNT's first three games due to hamstring issues.
TNT's all-around import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson supported Castro with his 22 points, nine rebounds, five dimes, five deflections, and a block.
Four more Tropang Giga scored in double digits to get their second straight victory of the tourney. Rey Nambatac contributed 19, Calvin Oftana provided 18, RR Pogoy put up 12, and Glenn Khobuntin added 10.
Meanwhile, Blackwater high-scoring import George King, who averaged 39 points per game, was only limited to a conference-low 28 markers on 10-of-22.
The Bossing also don't have their prized rookie Sedrick Barefield due to injury.
With King being handcuffed and Barefield not in the lineup, RK Ilagan stepped up and poured out 19 points highlighted by 3-of-3 shooting from the arc.
The game was the last of the year for both teams.
TNT will be back in action on January 7 against Meralco Bolts, while Blackwater will come back on January 8 to face Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
Sweet-shooting guard Jordan Heading and import Cheick Diallo poured out 21 points each to lead Converge in their victory over the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 116-105, on Thursday night, December 19, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The win marked the first time that the FiberXers won back-to-back games in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner's Cup and improved their record to 4-2.
Besides Heading and Diallo, four more Converge players scored in double digits. Schonny Winston and Bryan Santos contributed 16 apiece, while Alec Stockton and BJ Andrade added 14 and 11, respectively.
Their twin towers, ace center Justin Arana and top pick rookie Justine Baltazar both came out with six markers.
"We give credit to our guys," said FiberXers acting head coach Franco Atienza, who admitted that he was anxious when Phoenix made a good start that led to a 20-2 lead.
"We just stuck on, we didn't panic. We returned to how we want to run our system, how to run our offense, our defense," Atienza added.
Converge will have a chance to extend their win streak when they face Barangay Ginebra on Saturday, December 21, in Batangas City, and against Meralco Bolts on Christmas day at the Big Dome.
Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell led Phoenix with 30 points and 18 rebounds. He was supported by RJ Jazul's 20, Tyler Tio's 13, and Ricci Rivero's 11.
The Fuel Masters now have a 1-5 win-loss record after dropping their final game of the year.
The Scores:
CONVERGE 116 - Heading 21, Diallo 21, Winston 16, Santos 16, Stockton 14, Andrade 11, Arana 6, Baltazar 6, Racal 5, Delos Santos 0, Caralipio 0.
PHOENIX 105 - Smith 30, Jazul 20, Tio 13, Perkins 12, Rivero 11, Tuffin 8, Verano 4, Garcia 3, Soyud 2, Manganti 2, Salado 0, Alejandro 0, Muyang 0, Ular 0, Daves 0.
Quarter Scores: 15-30, 48-54, 87-80, 116-105.
San Miguel failed to earn its breakthrough win in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League (EASL) after bowing to Hong Kong Eastern, 62-71, at Southorn Stadium in Hong Kong, on Wednesday, December 18.
Kobey Lam spearheaded the pivotal comeback, registering 19 points, which gave the Hong Kong squad its first victory in the EASL game.
Notwithstanding the efforts of June Mar Fajardo and recently signed import Torren Jones for San Miguel, Eastern maintained their lead.
After a difficult turn-around shot by Fajardo, the Beermen were able to cut the margin to just two points at 58-60 in the fourth quarter.
However, just when it appeared that San Miguel had the advantage, Lam blazed through when he scored five of Eastern’s 9-0 run.
Lam also posted three rebounds and one assist for the Hong Kong-based squad, with Chris McLaughlin tallying a double-double of 16 markers and 17 boards, while Glenn Yang contributed 11 for the home team.
Fajardo and Jones led the charge for the Beermen with 19 points each, but their efforts were for naught as they failed to keep the team from suffering a third straight loss and dropping to the bottom of Group A.
The loss was the first in three games for Leo Austria since taking over as coach last week in place of Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel will aim to finally grab their first win in the EASL as they face the Hiroshima Dragonflies on January 8 at the Hiroshima Sun Plaza in Japan.
The Scores:
Hong Kong 71 – Lam 19, McLaughlin 16, Yang 11, Blankley 7, Xu 5, Leung 5, Chan 4, Zhu 4, Cheung 0, Pok 0, Guinchard 0.
San Miguel 62 – Fajardo 19, Jones 19, Perez 8, Miller 5, Trollano 3, Tautuaa 3, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Ross 0, Lassiter 0.
Quarter Scores: 28-14, 48-34, 60-48, 71-62.