Ginebra wins Commissioner’s Cup after 21-year drought

The last time Barangay Ginebra won the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the team was still composed of PBA players like Marlou Aquino, Bal David, Noli Locsin, Pido Jarencio, and the legendary Robert Jaworski Sr. as playing coach. They were also called the Gordon’s Gin Boars back then. And yes, it was against their rival, the Alaska Milkmen coached by, ironically, Ginebra’s current head coach, Tim Cone.

Fast forward to 2018, the Gin Kings finally won the conference title again after a 21-year dry spell.

Led by their American import, Justin Brownlee, who finished with a game-high 31 points and 19 rebounds, Ginebra closed out the series in six games against the powerhouse squad San Miguel Beermen.

Brownlee, who was initially brought into the team as a replacement, is now three-for-three in the PBA Finals.

“I definitely didn’t expect this. I was just hoping I could come and help out the team, you know with Paul (Harris), he was injured. I think he had a time table, a few weeks to a month or whatever it was. I was just coming in to just do whatever I can to help the team win, and I was gonna be the replacement,” he told Philippine Star.

Another vital cog in this championship run is 6-foot-11 center Greg Slaughter. He added 13 points and 9 rebounds in Game 6 and played suffocating defense on Best Player of the Conference Junemar Fajardo, which helped turn the tide of the game.

“I think the difference maker, the guy that didn’t really give a lot of credit to — we did, but maybe not enough — was Greg Slaughter,” said Ginebra Head Coah Tim Cone in the post-game press conference.

Scottie Thompson was named Finals Most Valuable Player, contributing 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 5 assists for Ginebra in Game 6.

The first four games of the championship series featured blowouts split between the two teams. Game 5 was close, but the Gin Kings managed to snatch the win away in the dying moments of the game.

The final game of the series was neck-and-neck in the first half. Ginebra was able to pull away in the third period on the back of a 16-2 run. With a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter and timely buckets to extinguish any run from the Beermen, the Gin Kings managed to put the game away and bag their first PBA Commissioner’s Cup title in 21 years.