By REYNALD MAGALLON
Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao was bracing for the ‘real’ Ginebra heading into their second round rematch.
The powerhouse and the dominant one showed up.
The Kings unloaded a blistering fourth quarter rally and dismantled the Elasto Painters, 124-102 to extend their winning run to four in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Sept 13.
Justin Brownlee and Stephen Holt presided over a huge second half effort that saw Ginebra go for a 27-9 run bridging the last two quarters to pull away from Rain or Shine and force a three-way deadlock atop Group B.
Ginebra caught ROS on a similar 5-2 record along with San Miguel, making the race in the Group B all the more interesting especially with the Kings and the Beermen still set to lock horns on Sunday, Sept. 15.
Justin Brownlee erupted for 40 points and 10 rebounds while Japeth Aguilar added 21 points and eight rebounds. Holt also caught fire from deep, finishing with 18 points – all of which came from the three-point territory in the second half.
Scottie Thompson finished with 17 points and eight rebounds as RJ Abarrientos and Maverick Ahanmisi had 13 and 12 respectively.
Aaron Fuller posted 28 points and 11 rebounds to pace the wards of Guiao whose words proved to be too prophetic for his own good as the ‘real’ Kings indeed came out swinging to avenge their 73-64 loss in the first round in Candon City.
The Elasto Painters were actually hanging around and engaging the Kings in a back-and-forth affair in the third frame after erasing a 15-point first half lead. Rain or Shine was even only down by one, 79-80 late in the third frame but Ginebra suddenly found the mark from deep with Abarrientos and Holt opening the flood gates.
It was all Ginebra from there as the lead ballooned to as many as 27 in the final frame.
Jhonard Clarito added 16 points while Felix Pangilinan-Lemetti had 15 built on four triples in a losing effort.
