Kobey Lam waxes hot as import-less Dragons pull off upset win over Gin Kings

Kobey Lam refused to see Bay Area fall into a deep hole and helped the Dragons register a 94-86 victory over Brgy. Ginebra in Game 4 of the best-of-seven championship series in the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup, Friday night inside a jampacked SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Stepping up due to the absence of import Andrew Nicholson due to an ankle injury which he sustained in the closing seconds of Game 3, the 22-year old Lam dropped 30 points highlighted by 8-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc. He scored 8 straight points to give his team a comfortable 12-point edge, 84-72, with just under 5 minutes remaining in the payoff period.

“From that loss the last time, we decided we have to move on and play the next one. Being down 1-2 is tough,” said Lam during the post-game presser.

“This game is important for us and we can’t be in a 1-3 hole,” he added.

Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian admitted that he was proud of the way his team fought despite all the adversities that hounded them the past 48 hours.

“We didn’t have Nicholson tonight and we had to bring it. We have to play with a defensive presence and we have to move the ball,” said Goorjian.

“I’m proud of my young team playing in a game like this and competing and getting a win,” added the concurrent mentor of Australia’s national basketball team.

Justin Brownlee, who was earlier proclaimed as the Best Import, paced the crowd darlings with a triple-double output of 23 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists to go with 4 steals and a block in 45 minutes of action. Best Player of the Conference Scottie Thompson added 18 markers while Japeth Aguilar and LA Tenorio chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The pivotal Game 5 is set on Sunday, January 8, 5:45pm at the same venue.

The scores:

Bay Area 94 – Lam 30, Yang 18, Zhu 18, Liu 8, Reid 8, Blankley 7, Song 3, Zheng 2, Ewing 0, Ju 0.

Brgy. Ginebra 86 – Brownlee 23, Thompson 18, J.Aguilar 12, Tenorio 11, Pringle 9, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 5, Mariano 0, Gray 0, Pinto 0.

Quarterscores: 19-19, 38-46, 60-61, 94-86.