McCullough upstages Brownlee as TNT drags Ginebra to winner-take-all Game 7

MANILA, Philippines – When TNT needed Chris McCullough the most, he put the Tropang 5G on his back and kept them alive in their bid to defend their PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown.

The former NBA player dazzled with a career-high 53 points on top of 22 rebounds, dragging TNT to a dramatic 98-90 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game 6 before a mammoth crowd at the Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, June 14.

In one of the most thrilling import battles in PBA history, McCullough upstaged the 52-point, 5-rebound, 3-assist, 2-steal, 2-block performance of Justin Brownlee as the Tropang 5G leveled the best-of-seven series at 3-3 and forced a winner-take-all Game 7.

“CMac got tired of Justin just eating his lunch. Another 50 piece by Justin today but CMac was able to stay in step with him and I think that’s basically the key,” said TNT head coach Chot Reyes.

McCullough poured 16 points in the fourth quarter, hitting big shots one after the other, including a booming four-pointer that gave the Tropang 5G a 94-86 lead with under two minutes remaining.

When Brownlee answered with a layup to cut the Gin Kings’ deficit to 6 points, McCullough responded with a short stab of his own for a 96-88 cushion, which proved enough to keep Ginebra at bay. 

Jordan Heading knocked down two free throws with 15 seconds left to seal the victory as he backstopped McCullough with 19 points and 9 assists.

Roger Pogoy supplied 13 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals for TNT, which won despite missing key players Calvin Oftana (calf) and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (ankle).

With the Tropang 5G forcing Brownlee to take over offensively, they kept all of the Ginebra locals under single-digit scoring.

Troy Rosario had 9 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the loss, while RJ Abarrientos (6 points, 1-of-12 shooting) and Scottie Thompson (3 points, 1-of-6 shooting) were held to their lowest scoring outputs of the finals. 

Game 7 is set on Wednesday, June 17, at the Mall of Asia Arena. – Rappler.com