One of the country’s beloved basketball teams, Barangay Ginebra, found themselves at a great place with their match as of date. They were able to bounce back strong after a painful loss at their last game and find themselves wallopping Magnolia. The Gin Kings slammed Magnolia, 103-80 and got the critical 2-1 lead in their 2022-23 PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semis series at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Ginebra made sure that Magnolia’s steal for Game Two will not see a repeat at all. The one-point loss at that game last Friday was Paul Lee’s game-winning bank shot at the buzzer.
The Gin Kings went blazing and on fire with Game Three. Justin Brownlee — also among the Best Import candidates — clocked in an amazing 38 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists. He did not waver at any moment in the game. Brownlee is a former St. John’s standout who qualified as the fifth import to join the elite 5,000-point club — among which only the likes of Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers and Lew Massey are part.
The game was tied at 25-all in the second frame. Then the Kings rendered a 12-1 run to build the first double-digit speak of the game – resulting in a 37-26 score. Nick Rakocevic and Jio Jalalon tried to chip down the lead with back-to-back hits to stay within striking distance, 39-34. But the Gin Kings ran away with another 10-0 rally to end the first half that Magnolia never recovered from.
Glowing feedback and high team spirit
Tim Cone, Ginebra’s coach, made a fearless forecast albeit their game plan moving forward. The Gin Kings wouldn’t want to see the series go into a fifth and deciding game at all. He reiterated, “Obviously, we don’t want to go to Game Five,” said Cone, whose Ginebra five tries to put a fitting end to the series with another victory come Wednesday when Game Four shifts to the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
This was seconded by one of the team’s veteran playmakers, LA Tenorio, “It’s an opportunity for us to close it out, but I know it’s gonna be tough.” The duo of Justin Brownlee and LA Tenorio was in a fiery stance still smarting from the previous 96-95 loss from the last game. They were all out on the floor and they didn’t let up coming from the “miracle win” delivered by Paul Lee from the last game that the Gin Kings won’t forget for a long time.
Cone also pointed out and assessed the situation of how the Magnolia team’s player composition is currently at. The absence of veteran Magnolia star, Paul Lee, is clearly affecting how the Hotshots are performing in their game. Known as “Angas ng Tondo”, Lee appeared to be under the weather.
Magnolia’s coach, Chito Victolero just clocked in two minutes and 15 in the opening period before letting Lee stick things out on the bench. Without Lee — who plunked in 24 points in the last game — the game was teetered toward Ginebra’s favour. The momentum of points made by the Gin Kings went on up and up throughout the rest of the game.
Ginebra’s Brownlee outplayed Magnolia’s Nick Rakocevic while Tenorio, now no. 3 all-time in three points and finished with 20 points in another huge game for the Ginebra loyal fans.
Never say die attitude of Ginebra has always won points for them and this endears them even more to their fans. Yes, I’m one of those fans and Ginebra will always be near and dear to my heart. Let us know who your favourite team is folks! Share how you’ve drawn inspiration from their game and this trickled into making a difference in your life. Hear from you soon, cheers!
