Game 1 may have belonged to Justin Brownlee, but both Barangay Ginebra and TNT know the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup Finals is only beginning.
Brownlee’s clutch fadeaway jumper over Chris McCullough with 0.6 seconds remaining lifted the Gin Kings to a dramatic 102-100 victory on Wednesday, handing Ginebra the early edge in the best-of-seven championship series.
Now comes the challenge of maintaining it.
When the two teams meet again in Game 2 on Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Ginebra will look to build on its advantage while TNT aims to turn a painful defeat into a valuable lesson.
For all the celebration surrounding Brownlee’s latest game-winning moment, the Gin Kings emerged from the opener fully aware that they were fortunate to escape.
After controlling much of the contest and building an 18-point lead in the third quarter, Ginebra watched TNT methodically chip away behind RR Pogoy, Rey Nambatac, and McCullough before eventually surrendering the lead in the fourth period.
The comeback forced Ginebra to rely on late-game execution and individual brilliance rather than the dominant performance it appeared headed toward earlier in the night.
“I gotta admit, we lost a lot of rhythm, offensively,” Brownlee said after Game 1.
The veteran import pointed to TNT’s ability to exploit the interior and generate second-chance opportunities as major factors behind the shift in momentum.
“They hurt us on the post and I think that opened up some shooters for them,” Brownlee said. “I also think that we could do a better job on the offensive rebounding. I’m not sure how many offensive rebounds we gave up, but I know we gave up some crucial ones.”
The Tropang 5G grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in Game 1, repeatedly extending possessions and giving themselves opportunities to erase the deficit.
That area is expected to be one of Ginebra’s primary focuses heading into Friday’s rematch.
Another concern for head coach Tim Cone is the play of Nambatac, who helped spark TNT’s fourth-quarter surge with timely perimeter shooting.
“He had a hot-shooting night,” Cone said. “He hadn’t shot well during the Meralco series for them, but he came in and shot well. And he did that last year when he got the best player of the Finals.
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“So we got to figure him out a little bit better, we got to figure out everybody well.”
While Ginebra searches for answers defensively, TNT enters Game 2 encouraged by the fact that it nearly stole Game 1 despite an uneven start.
The Tropang 5G struggled through stretches of the first half, committed costly turnovers, and found themselves buried under a double-digit deficit before mounting their rally.
Yet even after all that, they were one defensive stop away from taking control of the series.
For TNT, the challenge now is finding a way to sustain the level it showed during its comeback while avoiding the slow start that put it in trouble in the first place.
McCullough remains a major weapon after posting 25 points and 14 rebounds in his Finals debut for TNT, while Pogoy and Nambatac proved they can provide the firepower needed to pressure Ginebra’s defense.
Meanwhile, the Gin Kings will once again lean on Brownlee, whose 23-point performance was highlighted by another signature clutch shot. They will also need continued production from RJ Abarrientos, whose two crucial four-point plays helped shift momentum back in their favor late in Game 1.
The opener showed how little separates the two teams.
One side carries the confidence of securing the first victory. The other brings the belief that it already discovered the formula to challenge its rival.
With adjustments expected from both benches and momentum hanging in the balance, Game 2 could reveal whether Ginebra can seize full control of the Finals or if TNT can immediately turn the series into a best-of-five battle.
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