MANILA – Ginebra came alive in the final four minutes of Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals to steal an 89-82 win against Bay Area to the delight of most of the 15,004 fans at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Wednesday night.
In the first game of Asia's premier professional basketball league for 2023, the Gin Kings ended the game on a 17-3 run to snatch the victory from the Dragons, who seemed to be in control of the game most of the time as they too seemed to have bogged Justin Brownlee down.
Brownlee exploded for 19 points in the fourth quarter and finished with 34 points along with 17 rebounds, four assists, three steals and one block for Ginebra, which now holds a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Christian Standhardinger added 15 points, four rebounds and one assist off the bench, while Scottie Thompson chipped in 14 points including the go-ahead tip-in with 1:27 left, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Andrew Nicholson led Bay Area with 23 points, 24 rebounds and two blocks, but he failed to finish the game after suffering an ankle injury late in the contest.
In an earlier interview, Coach Brian Goorjian said he is not keen on bringing back Myles Powell for the championship series as he too is suffering from a toe tendon injury.
However, a possibility of Powell getting reactivated for the remainder of the series now looms depending on the extent of Nicholson's own foot injury and on whether he will play through the injury or not with Game 4 scheduled for Friday night also at the MOA Arena. (PNA)
