Barangay Ginebra San Miguel won Game 1 of the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup finals earlier this week at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City with a 91-87 win over the Meralco Bolts.

After trading runs in the opening half, Meralco built their largest lead of 61-51 in the third but baskets from Justin Brownlee allowed Barangay Ginebra to narrow their deficit to 71-68.

In the fourth quarter, Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio led Barangay Ginebra to an 80-73 lead; however, Chris Newsome and Allen Durham then put Meralco up by one point, 87-86.

With less than a minute to go, Brownlee and Pringle, along with a huge defensive stop by Aguilar, sealed the win.

Brownlee finished with 38 points and 16 rebounds for Barangay Ginebra, while Aguilar scored 16 points, Tenorio contributed 14, and Pringle added 10.

Meanwhile, despite the loss, Durham finished with a triple-double for Meralco with 25 points, 18 rebounds, and 10 assists; while Newsome scored 24 points; and Raymond Almazan added 20.

Game 2 takes place tomorrow, January 10, beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City./ASC, WDJ