MANILA, Philippines – Barangay Ginebra booked a semifinals ticket after they held on to deny San Miguel Beermen’s Grand Slam bid in a close 100-97 decision on Sunday, 24 November 2019, in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Justin Brownlee carried the scoring load once more for the Gin Kings, finishing with a crucial defensive stop in the final minute and capitalized on their twice-to-beat incentive to punch their ticket to the semifinals.

Brownlee put up 41 points and 11 rebounds, while Pringle had 24 points and 5 assists.

LA Tenorio had 12 points and 7 assists, as the Gin Kings shot a blistering 53.3% from the field.

On the other hand, Junemar Fajardo put up 24 points and 18 rebounds for the Beermen as their Grand Slam bid took a detour.

SMB’s Import John Holland chipped in 20 points and 8 boards, while Terrence Romeo finished with just 8 markers.

Barangay Ginebra once again prevented San Miguel from completing the Grand Slam feat which was done only 5 times in PBA history.

The embattled San Miguel Beermen lost their last three games of the conference after Arwind Santos, Kelly Nabong, and Ronald Tubid got suspended indefinitely following an unfortunate scuffle in practice with former import Dezmine Wells.

Wells replaced by former NBA player John Holland after spraining his ankle midway through the tournament and with him around, the Beermen never won a game and limped away to the playoffs with a 6-5 record as the fifth-seeded team.

Sadly enough, they had a perfect 4-0 start in the conference. (Lloyd Tagbago/IAMIGO/CNS)