MANILA – Stanley Pringle came up with crucial hits in the endgame as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings edged Bay Area Dragons, 101-91, in Game 5 of the 2022-2023 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After seeing their 18-point lead cut to as low as 86-91 by a furious fourth quarter run by the Dragons, Pringle converted back-to-back triples from the corner to widen the Gin Kings’ lead to 97-86.
The Dragons cut it to 88-97 on two free throws by Kobey Lam. However, a fastbreak layup by Earl Scottie Thompson followed by a facial dunk by Japeth Aguilar on Bay Area’s Zheng Qilong gave Ginebra a 101-88 lead with under a minute left.
Pringle finished the game with 20 points, including six outside conversions, to go with five rebounds. The Gin Kings moved closer to coronation with 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven title series.
Kings head coach Tim Cone said the former top-overall pick got a lengthy minute in Game 5 with veteran guard LA Tenorio exiting early in the third quarter after sustaining a groin injury.
“We have to play Stanley longer because LA went down with an injury,” Cone said. “We are glad that Stanley delivered those crucial triples since the Bay Area is not familiar with his offense that much.”
Justin Brownlee led the way for the Gin Kings with 37 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, three steals and two assists, while Japeth Aguilar added 12 markers, six blocks and six boards.
The Gin Kings went on a fiery 20-9 start behind Brownlee but the Dragons countered with three-point bombs to snatch a 24-23 edge. Ginebra leaned on Brownlee, Tenorio and Aguilar in the second quarter to establish a 54-43 halftime lead.
Ginebra continued its rampage in the second half with three-point bombs from Brownlee and Pringle for a 76-62 lead after three quarters before it reached its largest at 84-66 on back-to-back treys by Brownlee and Pringle early in the fourth quarter.
Hayden Blankley tallied 29 points, including five triples, to go with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks while Lam and Zheng contributed 16 and 15 markers, respectively, for the Dragons.
BOX SCORE:
GINEBRA 101 – Brownlee 37, Pringle 20, J. Aguilar 12, Tenorio 8, Malonzo 7, Thompson 7, Standhardinger 5, Pinto 3, Gray 2, Mariano 0.
BAY AREA 91 – Blankley 29, Lam 16, Zheng 15, Liu 10, Ewing 9, Song 5, Zhu 3, Ju 2, Reid 2.
Quarterscores: 23-24, 54-43, 76-62, 101-91. /PN
