In Game 7 for the ages, Kings look to achieve something special while Dragons shoot for respect

Game 7 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Sunday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan will not only bring victory and the championship trophy before the crowd.

For Barangay Ginebra, getting the eighth championship in 16 conferences in the deciding set at 5:45 pm could be the most difficult and the most exciting for coach Tim Cone, resident import Justin Brownlee and the rest of the team.

Facing a formidable team from Hong Kong with the initial goal of competing in the East Asian Super League before participating in the midseason tournament, Ginebra is determined to pull off its biggest win of all titles in recent times.

“That makes it really, really special,” Cone said before the Finals kicked off last Christmas. “Kind of the crown of all the rest if we can do it.”

For Bay Area, it will be the second foreign team to join American-born Nicholas Stoodley in the 1980 Invitational to win the PBA title.

But the winner-takes-all affair is also one last chance for coach Brian Goorjian and the Dragons to leave a lasting impression among Filipino fans, some of whom have been booing the visiting squad throughout the series.

“You still have a chance to earn respect for how you compete and how you play,” Goorjian said midway through the series.

Unexpected results

Ginebra and Bay Area have traded victories-with some unexpected results-to set up the 29th Game 7 in the colorful history of the league.

The Gin Kings won an odd number of games, including the third chapter when they came back from 14 down in the third quarter and seven in the final four minutes to stun the Dragons, 89-82.

Bay Area won the even-numbered games, highlighted by a Game 4 win despite playing without injured import Andrew Nicholson and a hard-fought Game 6 when Myles Powell was activated with the Dragons on the sidelines.

Ginebra fans who will be traveling to the venue want nothing more than to see their heroes deliver victory while also displaying the “Never Say Die” spirit that they have traditionally been known for.

But Goorjian also pointed out that Dragons also have “NSD” in their DNA.

“This is something Filipinos are proud of, but we want to match it,” Goorjian said. “We want to match, and they have certainly shown. I am proud of the fact that we have not gone anywhere in this.

“We’ve taken a beating and we’ve been thrown back. It’s very serious,” he added.

not lost

Brownlee will lead Ginebra’s effort to stay undefeated in the Finals but needs supporting players to solve the shooting problem that caused the loss of Game 6. That includes Scottie Thompson, Stanley Pringle and LA Tenorio, who have come through several parts of the series.

Christian Standhardinger, perhaps the unsung hero of Ginebra in the Finals with his defense and timely scoring, and Japeth Aguilar is also good to step up, especially in the paint against Bay Area’s Duncan Reid and 7-foot-5 Liu Chuanxing.

Powell will be the main man for Bay Area as he challenges the defense again from Thompson, Nards Pinto or one of Cone’s gambits. Point guard Glen Yang’s playmaking will also be key in making sure the Dragons are well organized.

Hayden Blankley and Kobey Lam will look to produce the Dragons as they have done in many series, while Zhu Songwei will also want to help the Dragons win, if he can stick to the system and reduce turnovers.

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