This may be a bittersweet feat for Justin Noypi, especially since a costly airball and an errant pass to the long-distance area hastened the collapse of the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
That said, with the TNT Tropang GIGA claiming their second consecutive Governors' Cup title, and with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson claiming his second straight Governors' Cup Best Import award, Brownlee finishing on top of the 4-Point Derby is a considerable consolation prize.
Yes, the four-point line is still polarizing, but the PBA teams were able to integrate it properly into their plays. The line served as a major stepping stone to Jerrick Ahanmisi's rise. Magnolia created situations to exploit the opportunity because of his uncanny ability to score on the said range. The Hotshots led the league in 4-point shots made in the Governors' Cup.
The three SMC teams are at the top of the 4-Points Made list. This is noteworthy since it was Alfrancis Chua who announced the innovation, to the point of giving zero fucks to its detractors.
While some teams made it a point to create plays for the "quadruple," most imports unleashed hell on the spot because they could. Of the Top 5 players on the list, four of them are imports. George King, in particular, averages two four-point shots made per game. NLEX's DeQuan Jones and Converge's Scotty Hopson also join King and Ahanmisi as the players who have at least one 4-point shot per game.
Coincidentally, Converge is the only team to have no local score a four-point shot, the Rain or Shine Elastopainters is the only team to finish the 4-Point derby in single digits, and the Northport Batang Pier has the lowest top scorer with Arvin Tolentino leading the team with just three 4-Pointers made.
BOX SCORES:
MAGNOLIA HOTSHOTS (37)
JERRICK AHANMISI 20, PAUL LEE 9, JOSEPH ERIOBU 3, PETER ALFARO 2, ZAVIER LUCERO 1, ARIS DIONISIO 1, RAYVONTE RICE 1.
BARANGAY GINEBRA SAN MIGUEL (30)
JUSTIN BROWNLEE 21, RJ ABARRIENTOS 4, LA TENORIO 2, STEPHEN HOLT 1, SCOTTIE THOMPSON 1, VON PESSUMAL 1.
SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN (25)
TERRENCE ROMEO 5, CHRIS ROSS 5, CJ PEREZ 5, EJ ANOSIKE 3, MARCIO LASSITER 3, JORDAN ADAMS 2, JERON TENG 1, JERICHO CRUZ 1.
NLEX ROAD WARRIORS (25)
DEQUAN JONES 11, ROBERT BOLICK 6, MIKE MIRANDA 4, RICHIE RODGER 2, MYKE HENRY 1, JONNEL POLICARPIO 1.
BLACKWATER BOSSING (21)
GEORGE KING 14, RK ILAGAN 3, SEDRICK BAREFIELD 2, JEWEL PONFERADA 1, TROY ROSARIO 1.
MERALCO BOLTS (14)
ANJO CARAM 4, CHRIS BANCHERO 4, JOLO MENDOZA 2, BONG QUINTO 2, CJ CANSINO 2.
PHOENIX FUEL MASTERS (13)
RR GARCIA 6, RJ JAZUL 2, JJ ALEJANDRO 1, RAFFY VERANO 1, JASON PERKINS 1, SEAN MANGANTI 1, BRANDONE FRANCIS 1.
TERRAFIRMA DYIP (13)
PAOLO HERNANDEZ 4, KEVIN FERRER 3, STANLEY PRINGLE 2, JUAMI TIONGSON 2, DIDAT HANAPI 2.
TNT TROPANG GIGA (11)
REY NAMBATAC 4, CALVIN OFTANA 2, CHRIS EXCIMINIANO 2, RR POGOY 2, RONDAE HOLLIS-JEFFERSON 1.
NORTHPORT BATANG PIER (10)
ARVIN TOLENTINO 3, JOSHUA MUNZON 2, JOHN AMORES 2, FRAN YU 2, ALLYN BULANADI 1.
CONVERGE FIBERXERS (10)
SCOTTY HOPSON 9, JALEN JONES 1.
RAIN OR SHINE ELASTOPAINTERS (9)
ANDREI CARACUT 6, FELIX LEMETTI 1, SHAUN ILDEFONSO 1, ANTON ASISTIO 1.