MANILA — This time, the Barangay Ginebra Kings made sure there would be no endgame meltdown as they routed the NLEX Road Warriors in the homestretch, 85-72, Wednesday night in the PBA Governors' Cup. Their second win in three games came just three days after the Kings squandered a double-digit lead to lose to the Alaska Aces in OT. In his second game for Ginebra, Justin Brownlee showed tougher form, finishing with a team-high 24 points on top of 14 rebounds. Japeth Aguilar added 14 points, including key baskets that helped spark Ginebra's 16-3 run in the final quarter. Joe Devance and LA Tenorio chipped in 10 points apiece. Scottie Thompson, the only rookie to be named a PBA All-Star starter this year, posted eight points, 12 boards and four assists. After Ginebra erected a 73-60 lead with 6:34 remaining, NLEX countered with a 4-0 blast. However, Brownlee doused the Road Warriors' rally with a three-point play as the Kings coasted to victory. Import Henry Walker led NLEX with 18 points and 13 boards. Sean Anthony added 14 markers in a losing effort as the Road Warriors tumbled to their second loss in three outings. The Road Warriors missed the services of Asi Taulava who was suspended for one game and fined a total of 32,500 pesos for slapping San Miguel forward David Semerad in their game last Friday. Mahindra 105, San Miguel 103 With playing coach Manny Pacquiao making a rare appearance, the Mahindra Enforcers turned giant-killer, beating defending champion San Miguel Beer, 105-103. Their third straight win catapulted the Enforcers to the top of the standings, their best start yet since they joined the PBA in 2014. Import James White exploded for 34 points on top of 11 boards, but it was the duo of relative unknowns Paolo Taha and Chito Jaime who keyed the win with their clutch shots in the endgame. Nino Canaleta and Taha added 17 and 12 markers, respectively. SMB import Arizona Reid, led all scorers with 43 points but this went down the drain as the Beermen suffered their first loss in three games. Jones Cup Philippines clobbers Japan for 4th straight win In New Taipei City, Taiwan, the Philippines — represented by Mighty Sports Apparels —dismantled Japan, 87-66, for its fourth straight win, moving closer to the title as South Korea upset defending champion Iran, 67-50, in the 38th William Jones Cup Wednesday at the Xinzhuang gym. The Philippines grabbed the solo lead as Iran fell to 3-1 while Korea improved to 3-2. The Mighty Sports dribblers bannered by seven imports raced to a 17-3 lead and were never threatened the rest of the way. Zach Graham led the team with 15 points on a perfect 5-of-5 shooting from the field, including a triple, while Dewarick Spencer and Vernon Macklin chipped 14 and 11 markers, respectively. PBA games Friday: Blackwater Elite (1-1) vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (1-1) and Tropang TNT (2-0) vs. Alaska Aces (1-1).
