PBA: Jamie Malonzo’s ‘normal self’ shows up in Ginebra’s Game 3 win

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings’ Jamie Malonzo during Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals. –PBA IMAGES

MANILA, Philippines—Jamie Malonzo is slowly but surely going back to his old form for Ginebra and Game 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals was a testament to that.

Tor the third straight game, the Gin Kings clobbered Northport to take a commanding 3-0 lead over the Batang Pier at Araneta Coliseum on Sunday with Malonzo playing his best game of the conference’s playoffs thus far.

LIVE: PBA semifinals Game 3 – TNT vs Rain or Shine, Ginebra vs Northport

“Jamie got confident, got his game going and felt good. That makes all the difference in the world,” said Tim Cone after their 127-100 win over Northport.

“You bring a guy in like that with so much talent and he’ll just elevate the whole team.”

Malonzo seemed to have shrugged off his injuries of old, finishing with 25 points and eight rebounds built on a waxing hot 63.6 percent shooting clip going 4-of-11.

The Gilas forward himself was elated with how he played on Sunday.

READ:  PBA: Ginebra with another blowout of Northport for 3-0 semis lead

After all, it’s only been a few months since he was cleared to play following a calf injury sustained last year.

“It’s hard to put into words how thankful I am to get back onto things but when I think of my teammates’ and coaches’ support, they’ve been by my side the whole way,” said the athletic forward.

“When I think about that, they make it easy for me, day in and day out to get back to my normal self… I’ll keep trying to use these games to try and get as close as I can to my normal self,” he added.

Malonzo and the Gin Kings look to close out their semis series with Northport and march to the PBA Finals on Wednesday at Araneta Coliseum for Game 4.