Game on Sunday:
(Philippine Arena)
5:45 p.m. – Ginebra vs Bay Area
Myles Powell made a rousing return, powering Bay Area to a thrilling 87-84 victory over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to force a sudden-death duel in their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven title series Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The explosive former Philadelphia 76er was impressive down the stretch, hitting the big baskets to provide the Dragons a big lift in the all-important Game 6 that was witnessed by 22,361 fans.
With the win, Powell is now 9-0 while playing for the Hong Kong-based squad and he wants to complete his perfect run by trying to lead the Dragons to the title in Game 7 on Sunday at the 55,000-seater Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Powell, who once erupted for 50 points in an elimination game against Rain or Shine, came up with 29 points, seven rebounds and three assists in his first game since suffering an acute hyperextended toe injury.
But with the reinforcement Andrew Nicholson suffering an ankle injury in Game 3, the Dragons had no choice but to activate Powell and allow him to carry them to the winner-take-all duel between a hungry guest team and the most popular basketball squad in the country.
Hardly showing any signs of the “foot injury” that sidelined him for the playoffs, Powell connected a layup in the final 2:35 to give the Dragons an 85-84 lead.
The Kings had several chances to respond, but they turned cold down the stretch, allowing the Dragons to take advantage with Powell knocking down two crucial free throws to seal the victory and silence the thousands of Ginebra faithful that trooped to the historic venue.
Import Justin Brownlee delivered a superb performance, registering a huge triple-double with 37 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, but he couldn’t get the job done as the Kings struggled in the crucial stretch.
The three-time Best Import took over in the third period, scoring 16 of his team’s total output as the Kings launched a comeback to make the game interesting.
Bay Area led by as many as 12, 58-46, in the early part of the third, but the Kings were able to turn things around quickly with Brownlee leading the way.
In the end, Powell had the last say, putting the Dragons on the verge of becoming the first foreign team to win a PBA championship in 42 years.
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
