PBA: Abarrientos, Brownlee tow Ginebra past Converge

MANILA, March 30 ------ Justin Brownlee put the finishing touches on what RJ Abarrientos started as Barangay Ginebra pulled away for a 99-93 win against Converge at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Gin Kings proved to be the more composed team down the stretch as they handed the FiberXers their fourth loss in a row in the PBA Season 50 Commissioners Cup. It was also a bounce-back win for the perennial crowd favorites after their loss to NLEX in their previous outing. Abarrientos put up 32 points on 12-of-20 shooting, while Brownlee shook off a sluggish start to finish with 33 points and 10 rebounds.

Converge looked poised to regain its winning ways after Justine Baltazar gave them a 93-92 lead with four minutes to play. A split at the line by Troy Rosario knotted the count with just over three minutes to go, and two more free throws by Abarrientos with 2:02 to play gave Ginebra the lead for good. A turnover by Alec Stockton out of a timeout led to a Brownlee layup and a 97-93 Ginebra lead with 34 seconds to go, and the FiberXers had no answers. Mikey Williams bricked a three-pointer, and Stockton also missed a four-point attempt of his own in their ensuing possessions. Squandered in the tough loss was a 20-point outing by Baltazar, as well as import Kylor Kelley's 13-point, 15-rebound double-double. Ginebra is now 2-1 in the conference, while the FiberXers dropped to 1-4.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com