The Ginebra Gin Kings could not lose when in light uniform in the PBA playoffs. Justin Brownlee scored all of the Kings’ last 10 points against tight defenses in what turn out to be the ultimate game of the Governor’s Cup to preserve the Gins’ unbeaten record when wearing white in the post elimination tiffs.
The versatile Ginebra import connected on a triple on top of the key at 3:08 mark against Allen Durham’s upraised arms to push the Kings to an 84-all tie. He then sank a step back jumper from the right side, against an onrushing Cliff Hodge to give Ginebra the edge, 86-84, with 2:20.
Ginebra would bungle the slim lead and was again staring at a two point deficit, 35 seconds left. Brownlee would reprise the sequences in reverse order to bail out the Kings.
He drilled in another step back-fading jumper, in the same in the right side where he made one earlier, over a flying Durham this time, to tie the game, 88-all, 28 seconds left. He then would etch his name in the PBA history books by draining another trey, a long one, mocking Durham’s challenge again to give Ginebra its first PBA crown in eight years.
The basketball gods seem to shower Ginebra with good graces when in light uniform. The win was the Kings’ sixth straight win while in white uniform during the playoffs. They both went 3-0 against San Miguel in the semis and against Meralco in the finals. They got games 1, 3 and the series clinching game 5 against the Beermen while pocketed games 2, 4, and the championship clinching game 6 against the Bolts.
In contrast, they were just 2-4 while in their red uniform in the playoffs. Their two wins came against Alaska in the quarterfinals and against Meralco in the crucial game five of the finals. If one is superstitious, he may think that the Kings broke the red losing tendency to win the jewel.
The trend was an exact opposite in the eliminations where the Kings were dominant when wearing red and just ordinary when wearing white uniforms. They were 6-1 while in dark uniform and just an ordinary 2-2 while in light in their 10-3 record, good for the third seed.
Overall Ginebra is 8-2 while wearing white and 8-5 while wearing red during the Governor’s Cup.
