Andrew Nicholson. PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—Guest team Bay Area set up an intriguing title showdown with Barangay Ginebra after surviving San Miguel Beer, 94-92, to claim their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
This time, the Dragons prevented the Beermen from pulling off an escape act when CJ Perez missed a go-ahead three and June Mar Fajardo muffed a close-range attempt that could force an overtime session before time expired.
Bay Area prevailed in four games, becoming the fourth guest team in PBA history to reach the grandest stage.
“I don’t think I’ve been in the series like that. Three of the four games came in the last second which is incredible,” said Dragons coach Brian Goorjian, whose team won the first two games, including a narrow comeback in the opener, before being denied of a sweep in Game 3.
The Finals starts on Christmas Day at the same venue, with Bay Area aiming to equal the feat of coach Ron Jacobs’ Northern Consolidated, the last guest to capture the title during the 1985 Reinforced Conference.
Nicholson finished with 42 points and 21 rebounds in another strong showing after replacing the injured Myles Powell at the start of the playoffs.
Kobey Lam, a revelation in the semis, fired 26 points as the Dragons were able to counter the Beermen’s schemes during a tight second half.
Perez carried San Miguel for 28 points, but an eventful campaign in the midseason conference came to an end.
San Miguel was forced to replace import Diamond Stone with Devon Scott while coach Leo Austria got sidelined for seven games, prompting assistant Jorge Gallent to guide the team back from a 3-5 record to reach the semis.
The Scores:
BAY AREA 94 — Nicholson 42, Lam 26, Blankley 12, Zhu 7, Yang 3, Ju 2, Song 2, Liu 0, Reid 0.
SAN MIGUEL 92 — Perez 28, Scott 25, Lassiter 14, Fajardo 9, Enciso 5, Cruz 4, Brondial 4, Romeo 3, Ross 0, Manuel 0.
Quarters: 17-16, 46-38, 69-72, 94-92.