The crowd darlings turned what initially looked like a tight game into a breakaway.
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel kicked into high gear in the second period on the way to a 127-93 win over NLEX Road Warriors in their PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinal match on Sunday.
Ginebra, thus, arranged a gigantic semifinal clash against the San Miguel Beermen.
Justin Brownlee, Jamie Malonzo, and Jeremiah Gray led the assault and combined for 32 of Ginebra’s 38 points in the second frame to take a 56-36 lead at halftime.
They refused to ease on the gas pedal from there and pounced on a Road Warriors who were missing import Wayne Selden due to injury.
Brownlee battered the undermanned NLEX on all fronts with 31 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. He didn’t commit a single turnover in 38 minutes of play for Ginebra.
Malonzo and Christian Standhardinger scattered 20 points each, while Gray had a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards for Ginebra, which was also without key players Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio.
Without its reinforcement, NLEX struggled to find an answer against Ginebra and trailed by as many as 38 points in the contest at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Sean Anthony led the Road Warriors with 16 points and 5 rebounds. Kevin Alas added 15 markers, 7 boards and 2 assists.