PBA: Ginebra beats pesky Rain or Shine to return to finals

Barangay Ginebra forward Justin Brownlee gestures after hitting a 3-pointer against Rain or Shine in Game 6 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.

ANTIPOLO—Barangay Ginebra clinched the first ticket to the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals after fending off Rain or Shine, 118-107, in Game 6 of their semifinals series on Sunday at Ynares Sports Center here.

Justin Brownlee led the way with 31 points and 15 rebounds for the Gin Kings, who led by as many as 17 early in the third quarter and kept the Elasto Painters at bay late.

READ: PBA: Yeng Guiao, Rain or Shine upbeat ahead of Game 6 vs Ginebra

The victory was a big sigh of relief for coach Tim Cone, whose squad avoided having to play a Game 7.

“I’ll tell you one thing. We didn’t want to play a Game 7 against a Yeng Guiao team. That would’ve been a disaster for us,” he said.

“It was just a terrific battle this whole series. It was a trial for us.”

READ: PBA: Yeng Guiao calls out Alfrancis Chua over heated exchange

Multiple times, the Elasto Painters gave Ginebra a scare in hopes of forcing a rubber match.

“It was so hard to get back-to-back wins in this series,” said guard RJ Abarrientos after pouring in 30 points, seven assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block in the win. “I think that part was the biggest for us, in terms of challenges.”

Ginebra’s firepower, however, was too much in the end. The Gin Kings closed out the Painters with a 9-2 run that widened their gap back to 14, 116-102, with only 1:43 remaining.

Scottie Thompson added 16 points while Ralph Cu, who was a spark off Ginebra’s bench in Game 5, continued to contribute in a big way with 11 points.

Jaylen Johnson paced Rain or Shine with 27 points and 14 rebounds. Gian Mamuyac scored 25, while Adrian Nocum chipped in 16.