Beermen fall to Gin Kings in nerve-wracking finish

Scottie Thompson drained a corner triple with just 4.8 seconds left on the game clock to give Brgy. Ginebra the lead and eventually the win over San Miguel, 97-96, Sunday night in the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

With the Gin Kings down by 2, 94-96, and only 9.2 seconds remaining, Jamie Malonzo tapped the ball over to Justin Brownlee during a jump-ball situation against CJ Perez. Brownlee immediately dished it off to Thompson who canned the go-ahead trey much to the delight of the predominantly Ginebra crowd at the Big Dome.

SMB still had a chance to pull off the victory but import Devon Scott fumbled the ball after receiving the inbound pass from Chris Ross. Brownlee secured the leather and held on to it until time expired

The crowd darlings picked up their 3rd consecutive win and improved to 5-2 while the defending champions dropped to 3-4.

Brownlee paced Brgy. Ginebra with 33 points on 12-of-29 shooting in 42 minutes of play. The 2-time Best Import awardee also contributed 11 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block.

“I was telling the guys, it’s there for us, we just play a little smarter, we just make a few more plays,” said Gin Kings head coach Tim Cone during the post-game presser.

“From the Best Import to the MVP. What a luxury that is for me as a coach. The trust was there and he made a great pass and Scottie made a great shot from the corner,” he added.

Scott paced the Beermen with a 20-20 performance of 26 points and 21 rebounds in 48 minutes of action. Perez added 19 points while Jericho Cruz and Simon Enciso tallied 14 markers apiece. Vic Manuel and Mo Tautuaa chipped in 13 and 8 markers, respectively.

San Miguel’s next game is against league-leading Magnolia on Wednesday, November 16, 5:45pm at the same venue.

The scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 97 – Brownlee 33, Thompson 14, J.Aguilar 13, Malonzo 13, Mariano 8, Pringle 4, Pinto 4, Pessumal 3, Gray 3, Tenorio 2, R. Aguilar 0.

San Miguel 96 – Scott 26, Perez 19, Cruz 14, Enciso 14, Manuel 13, Tautuaa 8, Lassiter 2, Ross 0, Herndon 0.

Quarterscores: 19-29, 46-53, 63-80, 97-96.