MANILA – Bay Area Dragons turned things around in the second half to beat Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 94-86, in Game 4 of the 2022-2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Down 38-46 at the half, the Dragons relied on inside conversions by Duncan Reid and outside hits by Zhu Songwei in the third quarter to chip in to the Gin Kings’ advantage to one point.
The Dragons finally took the lead at 60-58 following a three-pointer by Song Jianhua but a counter three-pointer by Stanley Pringle gave them a 61-60 lead entering the final quarter.
It was all Bay Area in the fourth quarter as five straight points by Zhu, free throws by Glen Yang and inside hits by Liu Chuanxing gave them a 73-66 advantage.
The Gin Kings cut it to 70-73 but the Dragons got two three-pointers and a layup from Kobey Lam and another inside hit from Duncan Reid for their largest lead at 86-74.
Barangay Ginebra made its last push at 86-92 after a three-pointer by Jamie Malonzo but Bay Area secured the victory on an inside connection from Hayden Blankley.
Lam finished the game with 30 points, while Zhu and Yang chipped in 18 markers apiece as the Dragons tied the best-of-seven championship series at 2-2.
The Dragons eked out the victory despite the absence of Andrew Nicholson, who sit out the match due to an ankle injury he sustained late in Game 3.
Justin Brownlee had triple-double 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists, Earl Scottie Thompson added 18 markers, while Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio had 12 and 11, respectively, for the Gin Kings.
Prior to the game, Brownlee was named as the Best Import of the Conference while Thompson snagged his second Best Player of the Conference award.
BOX SCORE:
BAY AREA 94 – Lam 30, Yang 18, Zhu 18, Liu 8, Reid 8, Blankley 7, Song 3, Zheng 2, Ewing 0, Ju 0.
GINEBRA 86 – Brownlee 23, Thompson 18, J.Aguilar 12, Tenorio 11, Pringle 9, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 5, Mariano 0, Gray 0, Pinto 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 38-46, 60-61, 94-86./PN
