LEADING THE WAY. Cameron Clark stars with a double-double for San Miguel.
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San Miguel escapes with its seventh win in eight games to steal the spotlight from Justin Brownlee moving up in the all-time imports scoring list
MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel spoiled a milestone night for Justin Brownlee and clinched its playoff berth in the PBA Governors’ Cup after scraping past Barangay Ginebra, 102-99, at the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, February 18.
Cameron Clark proved clutch and finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds as the Beermen escaped with their seventh win in eight games to steal the spotlight from Brownlee moving up in the all-time imports scoring list.
Brownlee surpassed the late Lew Massey (5,386 points) for fourth place in the list by firing 21 points on top of 10 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 blocks.
The resident Gin Kings import now has 5,406 points.
But San Miguel held on behind a late Clark bucket to tie TNT at the top of the standings as Ginebra fell short of its comeback from a double-digit hole.
The Gin Kings rode on a 12-2 run capped by a Nards Pinto triple and a Scottie Thompson steal-and-layup with 26 ticks left to trim an 87-98 deficit to 99-100 before Clark gave the Beermen a three-point lead with a short stab.
Pinto then muffed a potential overtime-forcing trey, got the offensive rebound off his own miss, but turned the ball over as time expired.
CJ Perez also starred for San Miguel with 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals, while June Mar Fajardo chimed in a double-double of 12 points, 18 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Vic Manuel added 10 points off the bench as the Beermen won back-to-back games.
Christian Standhardinger flirted with a triple-double in his second game back for Ginebra after a knee injury, churning out 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
But not even a pair of all-around performances from Standhardinger and Brownlee were enough as the Gin Kings crashed to their second straight loss and dropped to 3-2.
Scottie Thompson netted 13 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals in the defeat.
The Scores
San Miguel 102 – Clark 35, Perez 20, Fajardo 12, Manuel 10, Lassiter 8, Enciso 6, Cruz 5, Brondial 4, Ross 2, Tautuaa 0.
Barangay Ginebra 99 – Standhardinger 29, Brownlee 21, Gray 14, Thompson 13, Malonzo 9, Pringle 6, Pinto 6, Mariano 1, Tenorio 0.
Quarters: 24-21, 50-47, 82-72, 102-99.
– Rappler.com
