MANILA – Bay Area Dragons moved closer to the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals after a 114-95 drubbing of San Miguel Beermen in Game 2 of the semifinals last night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
Andrew Nicholson led the way with 34 points, including six three-point conversions, to go with 16 rebounds as the Dragons took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five semis series.
Kobey Lam added 25 markers, with four outside conversions. Glen Yang and Songwei Zhu chipped in 13 markers apiece, while Hayden Blankley and Liu Chuanxing ended with 11 and 10 markers.
From a slim 26-25 lead after the first quarter, the Dragons created separation in the second period behind outside conversions from Nicholson, Blankley and Yang for a 52-42 halftime lead.
The Dragons continued its domination in the second half with Lam and Zhu heating up from outside and Nicholson towering inside as the lead reached its largest at 21 points.
June Mar Fajardo had double-double 35 points and 10 rebounds. Marcio Lassiter added 15 markers, while Devon Scott and Jaymar Perez had 14 and 13 markers, respectively, for the Beermen.
In the first game, Paul Lee scored a twinner at the buzzer as the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots escaped with a 96-95 win over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings to tie their semis series at 1-1.
Down 95-94 after a three-pointer by Kings’ Stanley Pringle, Lee attacked the basket in the next possession but loses handle of it to Ginebra big man Japeth Aguilar.
Lee, however, managed to recover the ball and drained a short jumper at the buzzer over the defense of Barangay Ginebra import Justin Brownlee to snatch the victory for the Hotshots.
Lee finished with 24 points, including five treys, Nicholas Rakocevic added double-double 23 points and 20 rebounds, while Jiovani Jalalon and Calvin Abueva contributed 15 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Hotshots.
BOX SCORE:
BAY AREA 114 — Nicholson 34, Lam 25, Yang 13, Zhu 13, Blankley 11, Liu 10, Ju 4, Zheng 2, Reid 2, Song 0, Ewing 0, Liang 0, Si 0.
SAN MIGUEL 95 — Fajardo 35, Lassiter 15, Scott 14, Perez 13, Manuel 9, Romeo 5, Brondial 2, Zamar 2, Enciso 0, Ross 0, Cruz 0, Canete 0.
Quarterscores: 26-25, 52-42, 80-66, 114-95./PN
