Grand Slam run ends as San Miguel succumbs to Brgy. Ginebra in quarterfinals

For the second time in 3 seasons, Brgy. Ginebra prevented sister team San Miguel from securing the franchise’s 2nd Grand Slam and the 6th triple-crown in league history by outlasting the 2019 Philippine Cup and Commissioner’s Cup champs, 100-97, in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Justin Brownlee led the Gin Kings, who only needed a victory in order to advance to the semifinals, with 41 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals and 3 blocks in 46 minutes of action.

The win over the Beermen was a repeat of the 2017 scenario wherein the Leo Austria-mentored squad similarly claimed the first 2 conferences and then finished 5th after the eliminations of the 3rd. The 4th-seeded Gin Kings only took 1 game to dispatch of their rival before running over TNT and Meralco in the semis and the finals, respectively, to successfully defend the Governors’ Cup title.

“What a relief. What a relief that is,” said Brgy. Ginebra coach Tim Cone shortly after the match.

“I feel like I landed one plane and I feel like an air traffic controller at this point. Got a couple of planes circling up, going around, and if I try to land them both at the same time, or they are going to crash. I got to really focus on one and land one,” added the most successful bench tactician in league history with 21 titles tucked under his belt.

Stanley Pringle contributed 24 points while LA Tenorio added 12.

June Mar Fajardo paced the Beermen, who were without the suspended trio of Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong and Ronald Tubid, with 24 points and 18 rebounds while John Holland added 20. Moala Tautuaa, Alex Cabanot and Marcio Lassiter finished with 12, 11 and 10, respectively.

The scores:

Brgy. Ginebra 100 – Brownlee 41, Pringle 24, Tenorio 12, Chan 6, Aguilar 6, Slaughter 5, Thompson 4, Dela Cruz 2, Devance 0.

San Miguel 97 – Fajardo 24, Holland 20, Tautuaa 12, Cabagnot 11, Lassiter 10, Romeo 8, Ross 7, Pessumal 3, Rosser 2.

Quarterscores: 23-23, 54-58, 78-83, 100-97.