Bay Area Dragons’ Kobe Lam stars in Game 4 win. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–Playing without an import on the night the enemy’s two aces were feted, Bay Area on Friday took all Ginebra could offer and still found ways to hack out a 94-86 decision to level the PBA Commissioner’s Cup championship series at two games apiece.
Kobey Lam fired 30 points built on a torrid three-point shooting, while Glen Yang and Zhu Songwei chipped in 18 each as the visiting Dragons notched a key win even sans their reinforcement, Canadian workhorse Andrew Nicholson, who hurt his ankle in the previous meeting.
“Without an import, I’m really proud with where we went,” said coach Brian Goorjian, whose team denied the crowd darlings a chance to take control of this best-of-seven contest many spectators feel would go the distance.
“I liked the way we were playing. And I thought we had a lot of opportunities that didn’t go but I just kept saying: If we can just keep in this game, don’t let go and see where it takes us, we’ll get that opportunity with four minutes to go,” he added.
WATCH: The Bay Area Dragons celebrate their stunning 94-86 win over Barangay Ginebra that tied the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals at 2-2. #PBAFinals | @jonasterradoINQ pic.twitter.com/drlBCUE2us
— INQUIRER Sports (@INQUIRERSports) January 6, 2023
The Game 4 triumph also spoiled a milestone night for Scottie Thompson and Justin Brownlee, who both tabbed the tournament’s highest individual honors—Best Player of the Conference and Best Import.
Brownlee had 23 points while Thompson 18. Japeth Aguilar added 12 into the scoring effort as LA Tenorio rounded out Ginebra’s double-digit performers with 11.
Game 5 is this coming Sunday at Mall of Asia anew.
“Being down 1-2 in a series is tough, right? We didn’t want to be down 3-1, especially without our import Nicholson and Myles (Powell) out,” Lam said of the outing which saw his crew trail by as many as 12 points before a spirited third-quarter fightback that had Bay Area zooming to a 13-point cushion with 3:20 remaining in the payoff frame.
“This is a series. You gotta win four. There’s more to this,” Goorjian said.