Myles Powell powers Bay Area past Ginebra to force do-or-die Game 7

Published January 11, 2023 08:22 PM By JUSTIN KENNETH CARANDANG

It ain't over until it's over.

The Bay Area Dragons overcame Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 87-84, on Wednesday in Game 6 of the 2022 PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to force a do-or-die Game 7 for the title.

After trailing by 12, 58-46, before the halfway point of the third period, Justin Brownlee went on a personal 9-0 run to cut Ginebra's lead to three, 58-55, at the 4:23 mark.

Myles Powell answered with a triple before Ginebra made a 7-0 run capped by a Brownlee triple to grab the lead, 62-61. Hayden Blankley answered with a triple with Brownlee tying the game at 64 before Zhu gave the Dragons the lead, 66-64, to end the said frame.

Ginebra opened the final period with another 9-0 run to give them a comfortable 73-66 lead. But the Dragons tied the game at 78 off a Powell triple at the 7:05 mark before back-to-back baskets from Standhardinger and Thompson gave the lead again to Ginebra, 82-78.

A triple from Blankley and a basket from Powell handed the Dragons an 83-82 lead before Brownlee cut the lead for Ginebra, 85-84 with 2:24 left. A foul by John Pinto put Powell on the line where he split his bonuses, before another foul by Thompson on Powell brought him again to the stripe and he sank just one of two free throws to give the Dragons an 87-84 lead with five ticks left.

Japeth Aguilar tried to tie the game from beyond the arc but missed, giving the Dragons the win and tying the series at 3-3.

Powell, who was reactivated in lieu of Andrew Nicholson, powered the Dragons with 29 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Blankley made 23 points while Glen Yang and Zhu tallied 10 points each, with the latter also making 10 assists.

The win spoiled Brownlee's triple-double performance of 37 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds. Christian Standhardinger and Japeth Aguilar were the only players who scored in double digits with 12 points each.

More than 22,000 fans flocked to the Big Dome to watch the Game 6 thriller.

Game 7 of the Commissioner's Cup Finals will be held on Sunday, instead of the initially scheduled Friday, still at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

The scores:

Bay Area 87 – Powell 29, Blankley 23, Yang 10, Zhu 10, Lam 9, Liu 4, Reid 2, Zheng 0, Ju 0.

Ginebra 84 – Brownlee 37, J.Aguilar 12, Standhardinger 12, Thompson 8, Pringle 8, Malonzo 4, Pinto 3, Tenorio 0, Gray 0.

Quarters: 25-20, 50-42, 66-64, 87-84.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News

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