Bay Area hits back at Brgy. Ginebra, ties Finals series at 1 game apiece

Aching to bounce back after being manhandled in the Finals opener, Bay Area did just that and in convincing fashion by routing Brgy. Ginebra, 99-82, in Game 2 of the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven championship series, Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The Dragons took control in the opening half, relaxed a bit in the third frame, regained their composure in the payoff period and cruised to a lopsided victory to tie the Finals duel at 1 game apiece.

The troika of Andrew Nicholson, Zhu Songwei, and Hayden Blankley redeemed themselves from lackluster performances in the previous match and combined for 72 points to lead the visitors past the heavily-favored crowd darlings.

Nicholson, the 19th overall pick of the 2012 NBA draft, poured in 30 points on 11-of-21 shooting in 46 minutes of play. The 33-year old Canadian also tallied 15 boards, an assist, a steal and 2 blocks. Zhu finished with 25 points while Blankley and Kobey Lam added 17 and 11 markers, respectively.

“I said to the group, all of them, ‘Do what you did in the last game. Take your shots, you got my full backing.’ I’m gonna coach that other side of the ball — the rebounding, the defense,” said Bay Area head coach Brian Goorjian during the post-game presser.

“It definitely helps. I mean, the losses mount up, and you’re pretty much, ‘Can we beat this team?’ So yes, it did help. But, it’s a series, and I’m just happy,” he added.

Justin Brownlee paced the Gin Kings with 32 points, 11 boards, 3 assists and a steal. Jamie Malonzo scored 10 while Scottie Thompson contributed 9 points. LA Tenorio and Christian Standhardinger chipped in 8 markers each.

Game 3 is set on Wednesday, January 4, 5:45pm at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The scores:

Bay Area 99 – Nicholson 30, Zhu 25, Blankley 17, Lam 11, Ju 9, Yang 5, Reid 2, Song 0.

Ginebra 82 – Brownlee 32, Malonzo 10, Thompson 9, Tenorio 8, Standhardinger 8, Pinto 5, J.Aguilar 5, R.Aguilar 3, Pringle 2, Gray 0, Mariano 0.

Quarterscores: 22-16, 52-35, 68-60, 99-82.