By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The Bay Area Dragons leaned on its aggression from start to finish, beating Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 99-82, in Game 2 of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night, December 28.
Andrew Nicholson led the way with double-double 30 points and 15 rebounds, while Zhu Songwei added 25 markers, including three outside hits, as the Dragons tied the best-of-seven series at 1-1.
Hayden Blankley recovered from a subpar Game 1 with 17 markers while also converting three outside conversions, while Kobey Lam chipped in 11 points but shot only one of his eight triple attempts.
The Kings opened the game with a 10-4 lead on baskets by Justin Brownlee and LA Tenorio, but the Dragons quickly responded with back-to-back triples from Zhu and Lam to tie the score at 10-all.
After the Kings took a 14-12 lead via a conversion by Earl Scottie Thompson, the Dragons got another trey from Zhu, inside hits from Duncan Reid and Nicholson, and an outside shot from Ju Mingxin for a 22-16 edge.
In the second quarter, it was all the Dragons with Nicholson attacking the Ginebra defense, while Zhu and Blankley converting their outside shots as the lead swelled to 52-35 at the half.
The Gin Kings showed some life in the third quarter with consecutive shots from Brownlee to cut the deficit to 47-55, but the Dragons quickly restored order with back-to-back hits by Lam and a triple by Nicholson for a 62-50 edge.
Barangay Ginebra got three-point conversions from Thompson and Jamie Malonzo and a layup from Stanley Pringle to cut the deficit to 60-68 before pulling even closer at 63-68 on a three-point play by Japeth Aguilar.
But it was the Gin Kings’ last stand in Game 2 as the Dragons answered with connections from Zhu and Nicholson and free throws from Lam as the lead reached its largest at 99-79.
Brownlee was the lone bright spot for the Gin Kings with 32 points, including seven triples, to go with 11 rebounds, while Malonzo contributed 11 markers, six rebounds and three assists.
BAY AREA 99 — Nicholson 30, Zhu 25, Blankley 17, Lam 11, Ju 9, Yang 5, Reid 2, Song 0, Liu 0.
GINEBRA 82 — Brownlee 32, Malonzo 10, Thompson 9, Standhardinger 8, Tenorio 8, J. Aguilar 5, Pinto 5, R. Aguilar 3, Pringle 2, Gray 0, Mariano 0, Pessumal 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 52-35, 68-60, 99-82./ASC, WDJ