Kings near return to throne

MANILA, Philippines — Fuelled by a third-quarter storm, Barangay Ginebra surged ahead of TNT and moved on the doorstep of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship.

Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson spearheaded the major second-half turnaround as the Gin Kings stole Game 5, 73-66, to seize a pivotal 3-2 lead last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

As in their series-tying 95-78 romp last Friday, Brownlee bucked a right thumb injury to inspire the crowd darlings to victory and put them in striking position to clinch the crown in the race-to-four dispute in Wednesday’s sixth game.

Brownlee fired 16 of his 18 in the last 24 minutes, doing most damage in the third where he dropped eight as Ginebra wiped out a 10-point deficit and gained the upperhand with a 22-11 exchange.

That gave the Gin Kings the momentum going into the final push, where their stifling defense held the fading Tropang Giga scoreless in the last 4:03 and cleared the way for the seven-point go-ahead win in front of 12,447 fans.

Side by side with Brownlee at the center of the Ginebra fightback was Thompson, who provided hustle plays, made a couple of big shots and grabbed some huge defensive rebounds. Thompson finished with a double-double of 16-10 to go with five assists and two steals.

“We didn’t have a good first half. It’s like we were playing in second gear and they (TNT) in fourth gear. We knew at halftime we had to step it up and play a higher gear to have a chance,” said coach Tim Cone.

He said the stepped-up games of Thompson as well as Maverick Ahanmisi (11 points) and designated Rondae Hollis-Jefferson stoppers Stephen Holt and Jamie Malonzo were huge as Brownlee’s dislocated thumb was bothering him more this game.

“We all know from our side that Justin’s struggling a bit more with his hand today than he was in the last game so everybody had to step up,” said Cone.

“Justin was having a hard time gripping the ball today.”