Ginebra, Meralco slug it out in Lucena

After a good, winning stand versus Henry Walker, Justin Brownlee faces another acid test against another tested PBA veteran in Allen Durham.

The Brownlee-Durham matchup will be among the focal interests as Barangay Ginebra and Meralco slug it out in a lone match in the Petron Blaze PBA Saturday Special at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.

Game time is at 5 p.m. with both teams eying a third win in four starts in the season-ending tourney.

Brownlee has emerged a good sub to the injury-hit Paul Harris while Durham is considered a great catch by Meralco coach Norman Black, no less.

“We’re fortunate that Justin is a really good import. He can do a lot of things, he’s very versatile,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone after their 85-72 drubbing of the NLEX Road Warriors Wednesday.
“We knew he can score, but what we really appreciate is what he’s been doing for us defensively.”

Meanwhile, Black is so impressed of Durham whom he categorized with the likes of Billy Ray Bates, David Thirdkill and Bobby Parks.

Durham is sporting averages of 27.3 points and 17.0 rebounds as against Brownlee’s 27.5 markers and 14.0 boards heading to their faceoff.

While Brownlee and his teammates are coming off a win, Durham and the Bolts plunge back into action after a 95-98 loss to the TNT Katropa Texters.

The Bolts won their first two games versus the Phoenix Fuel Masters (108-103) and the Alaska Milk Aces (100-96).

Needless to say, it’s not all about the Brownlee-Durham matchup.

The Bolts are on a winning start in the conference also with heads-up performances from Jared Dillinger, Chris Newsome, Cliff Hodge and Jimmy Alapag. Iranian reinforcement Mohammad Jamshidi has had his contribution.

The Gin Kings have also drawing lift from their locals, most notably Japeth Aguilar, Sol Mercado and LA Tenorio. Mark Caguioa struggles with an average of only 4.6 points.

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