BAY Area won’t just simply lie down and die in its title bid in the mid-season tourney.
Prolific import Myles Powell, in his first match against Ginebra, made sure about that last night.
Showing they wanted it more, the Dragons nipped the Kings 87-84 in Game 6 of their best-of-7 finals duel for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown before a crowd that packed the Smart Araneta Coliseum to the rafters.
Although still nursing a foot injury, Powell stepped up when it mattered most, sinking two free throws that gave Bay Area an 87-84 cushion, only 5.4 ticks left.
Ginebra still had a lifeline, but Japeth Aguilar’s last-gasp three-point try missed its mark at the buzzer.
Holding the fort for the injured 6-foot-10 Andrew Nicholson (sprained left ankle), Powell notched 29 points on 5-of-11 shooting from deep for the Dragons, to go with seven rebounds and three assists, while Hayden Blankley provided ample help with 23 markers, seven boards and a dime.
In front of 22,361 wild and roaring fans, Glen Yang and Zhu Songwei also combined for 20 points for Bay Area, which atoned for a 91-101 loss to the Kings in the fifth game four days ago.
More importantly, the Hong Kong-based five, aiming to become the first guest team to win a title in the pro league since Nicholas Stoodley in 1980, leveled the race-to-4 series at 3-3.
The winner-take-all Game 7 is set this Sunday, Jan. 15, at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Dragons coach Brian Goorjian reserved his biggest praise to Powell, who led a furious endgame fightback for Bay Area.
“I have exhausted bodies on the floor and what we do and how we play is exhausting and the guy next to me is not in condition. . . to walk into something like that is totally will and he’s showing his spirit,” Goorjian said, referring to his prized 6-foot-2 guard. “It’s incredible and our young guys, our young kids have no doubt about it.
“We put the ball in his (Powell’s) hands the last five minutes of the game when we were down seven and he took us to the Promised Land,” he added.
Determined to drag the title battle to a deciding tiff, the Dragons took a 50-42 lead at the half.
The Kings battled back behind reinforcement Justin Brownlee and grabbed a 66-64 buffer going into the fourth canto.
A Christian Standhardinger three-point play pushed Ginebra’s edge to 73-66 at the 9:49 mark of the fourth before Bay Area woke up in time.
The Kings threatened at 84-85 on a Brownlee basket with 2:20 remaining but the Dragons held their ground the rest of the way.
Brownlee paced Ginebra with a triple double of 37 points, 10 caroms, and 11 feeds, while Aguilar had 12 and six.
Standhardinger also contributed 12 markers and five rebounds for the Kings.
