Ginebra downs Bay Area, nears another PBA title

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings forward Justin Brownlee during Game 5 of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals against the Bay Area Dragons at the Mall of Asia Arena. PBA PICTURES

MANILA, Philippines – Not letting another chance pass, Barangay Ginebra picked Bay Area in Game 5 Sunday night, winning 101-91 to take control of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship series, three games to two.

Resident import Justin Brownlee had 37 points and eight rebounds while Stanley Pringle 20 to return to the visiting Dragons, who missed high-scoring import Andrew Nicholson for the second-straight game.

“We have to keep getting it, get it,” said Tim Cone, who was charged before 21,823 screamers at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City-moving to the door of another title.

“We just had a better sense of what we wanted to do tonight and I think that’s what we did most of the time,” the experienced coach said.

Japeth Aguilar scored 12 points, joining Pringle who came off the bench to get his second output of the midseason show. Together, they helped Barangay Ginebra to lead as big as 18 points and doused the opponent’s fightback in minutes of the game.

While Nicholson continued to nurse his left ankle and captain Glen Yang suffered the same problem, Bay Area’s Hayden Blankley finished with 29 points.

Zheng Qilong chipped in 15 points in the scoring effort, while Liu Chuanxing scored 10. But with Game 4 hero Kobey Lam held only 16, Bay Area could only pull in five, 91-86, in the final frame.

Barangay Ginebra, which took its 15th overall PBA crown, can drop the series this Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

RELATED STORY

Read Next

Don’t miss the latest news and information.

For suggestions, complaints, or questions, please contact us.