LA Tenorio stars within the Sport 6 shut out. PBA IMAGES
There was no rewriting the PBA Governors’ Cup narrative this yr.
LA Tenorio and Justin Brownlee made positive of that—a lot to Tim Cone’s nice shock.
“Am I shocked? Sure. I’m shocked that we’re right here,” the Grand Slam coach stated on Friday evening, after Tenorio fired 30 factors and Brownlee canned 17 of his 24 factors within the third interval to steer Barangay Ginebra previous Meralco, 103-92, in Sport 6 of their championship showdown.
The Gin Kings closed out the Bolts, 4-2, within the best-of-seven sequence.
“It’s a little bit bit stunning at this level for us as a result of we have been up to now down at one level. I imply, we had actually reached the underside of the barrel,” Cone stated.
The American coach, who hiked his league-leading trophy whole to 24, was referring to the truth that at one level within the convention, the Gin Kings wanted a key victory of their final elimination spherical sport simply to make the playoffs.
And if there was ever an opportunity that Meralco would redo the season-ending script, it was this yr.
“However, you already know, ‘by no means say die.’ We’re a crew that doesn’t stop,” stated Cone, whose crew misplaced two of the primary three video games within the sequence.
“We’ve that legacy, and it’s all the time an honor and a curse to attempt to stay as much as that on a regular basis as a result of it’s actually laborious to stay as much as,” he added. “However these guys have been discovering methods to do this.”
And due to that, the Bolts have now misplaced 4 Governors’ Cup title showdowns in opposition to the Gin Kings.
Tenorio had 15 factors within the first half and, after Brownlee and Scottie Thompson engineered a powerful third quarter, delivered the back-breaking triple that gave Barangay Ginebra a 101-88 lead.
“[W]e went on that little mini-run, and that kinda modified the complexion of the sport,” Cone stated.
After a decent first half that had each groups all sq., it was the Kings that got here out of the break energized. Brownlee helped forge a 78-73 unfold getting into the fourth earlier than Ginebra uncorked 11 straight factors that gave it a 96-80 unfold.
Brownlee added 16 rebounds, six assists, two blocks and two steals because the Kings nailed their 14th franchise crown. Tenorio, in the meantime, connected 4 rebounds and 4 assists to his finest scoring output within the sequence—which couldn’t have come at a greater time.
“It’s in video games like this that my intuition kicks in,” Tenorio stated. “In video games like this, it’s now not about Xs and Os. It’s about making in-game changes and studying how the sport is enjoying out.”
Thompson, who completed with 15 factors and three steals, was named Finals Most Worthwhile Participant. Christian Standhardinger, who with Tenorio stored Ginebra afloat within the first half when Brownlee fired blanks, added 19 factors and 13 rebounds.
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