Import-less Bay Area Dragons even Finals series against Barangay Ginebra

The Bay Area Dragons, playing sans import Andrew Nicholson, evened the 2022 PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals series after taking down Barangay Ginebra, 94-86, in Game 4 on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Nicholson was out after sustaining a left ankle injury late in Game 3 of the finals.

Without their import, Kobey Lam waxed hot from deep with eight triples and tallied 30 points on top of nine rebounds, while Glen Yang and Songwei Zhu made 18 points each.

The Dragons relied on a strong second half as they outscored Ginebra, 22-15, in the third period and reclaimed the lead, 60-58, before a Stanley Pringle triple closed the said frame in their favor, 61-60.

However, momentum shifted on the side of the Dragons late as they took a lead of 13, 89-76, with 3:20 left in the final period before taking the Game 4 win in front of a crowd of more than 17,000.

After being tied at 19 at the end of the first period, Ginebra led by 12, 38-26, in the middle of the second quarter before closing the first half at 46-38 in their advantage.

The Bay Area win spoiled the triple-double performance of Best Import Justin Brownlee who registered 23 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists. Best Player of the Conference Scottie Thompson scored 18 points while Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

With the win, the best-of-seven series is now tied at 2-2.

Game 5 of the Finals will be played on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The scores:

Bay Area 94 – Lam 30, Yang 18, Zhu 18, Liu 8, Reid 8, Blankley 7, Song 3, Zheng 2, Ewing 0, Ju 0.

Ginebra 86 – Brownlee 23, Thompson 18, J.Aguilar 12, Tenorio 11, Pringle 9, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 5, Mariano 0, Gray 0, Pinto 0.

Quarters: 19-19, 38-46, 60-61, 94-86.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News