Ginebra Kings downs Bay Area Dragons in a seven-game series in front of more than 50K fans at the Philippine Arena.
In a record-breaking crowd of 54,589 at the mighty Philippine Arena in Bulacan, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel became literal dragon slayers as they defeated the guest team Bay Area Dragons, 114-99, to rule the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
With a strong showing of the faithful Ginebra fans, the team naturally fed off to the crowd’s energy and ultimately saved a spectacular performance to end the grueling series behind the heroics of Justin Brownlee, Jamie Malonzo, and reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson
“We were totally surprised at how well we played and that we were able to handle Bay Area. The only explanation we can really give was that the crowd really lifted us to that performance,” said coach Tim Cone — the league’s winningest coach with 25 titles — as reported by Sports Inquirer.
The newly naturalized Brownlee — rightfully introduced as “our new kababayan” in the pregame — delivered his usual 34 points, scoring bulk of his points at the first quarter with 23 out of the 50 points scored by the GinKings, with eight rebounds and 12 assists.
“We played with all Filipinos tonight, for the first time since I’ve been here. So, that was very special. The teammates, all my teammates definitely congratulated me and they were telling me how proud they are for me becoming a Filipino. It was very special,” said Brownlee according to Rappler.
In his first finals appearance, newbie Malonzo had the hot hands and scored 22 points to help the franchise clinch its 15th title overall, also with the help of Thompson who produced 18 points and nine rebounds while Christian Standhardinger added 12 and 10 of his own, together with six assists to keep a steady ship and eventually named as the Finals Most Valuable Player.
On the other side of the court, Bay Area’s import Myles Powell had a decent 29-point outing on top of seven rebounds and five assists, Hayden Blankley had 25 points, nine rebounds, and four assists, while Liu Chuanxing added 17 points but clearly not enough against Ginebra in the deciding game.
“We played an international team, and we got to give a lot of credit to Bay Area. They came out and played tough. They were coached very well and I’m just happy that we got away with a win tonight,” added the new Filipino citizen.
Tags: #PBA, #basketball, #championship