THE Philippines’ most popular team succeeded last night in its mission to defend home territory– fittingly in front of a boisterous crowd that came in droves.
Ginebra turned back Bay Area 114-99 in their deciding duel to bag the PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown before a record audience at the vast Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Ranged against a Ginebra side propped up by a sizzling start that can make any coach doubly proud and the Kings’ incomparable sixth man– all 54,589 of them lapping up every move of their team– the Bay Area Dragons simply failed to muster sustained rallies that had served them so well in victories in Games 2, 4 and 6.
Justin Brownlee, several days after being named a “kabayan,” played an inspired game as the Kings savored seventh heaven and shared it with their adoring backers while repeatedly frustrating the Dragons’ bid to make the final game of the series a match to remember.
The 6-foot-5 Brownlee scattered a game-high 34 points, to go with eight rebounds and 12 assists for Ginebra, while Jamie Malonzo chipped in 22 markers and 17 boards.
Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar combined for 32 points for the fast-starting Kings in a tiff that won’t be forgotten for a long time by their faithful that started to fill up the venue hours before tip-off.
Christian Standhardinger and LA Tenorio also had 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for Ginebra, which redeemed itself from a numbing 84-87 loss in the sixth game five days ago and annexed its 15th title overall, moving past Magnolia and the defunct Alaska franchise as the pro league’s second winningest squad behind San Miguel Beer.
The hulking 6-foot-8 Standhardinger was named finals MVP.
“I’m so honored to play against the Bay Area team. I’m so honored to be able to have a chance to coach against coach Brian Goorjian. He’s such a legend. We see all those videos all the time and I can see all the adjustments, all the little things he did,” Kings coach Tim Cone, who notched his 25th diadem overall, said. “I was scratching my head and was amazed.
“He’s such a fantastic coach but for us, our guys showed up and they won,” he added.
Ginebra zoomed to a 61-39 lead at the halfway mark and stretched the difference to as much as 75-57 on a Malonzo layup with 8:26 remaining in the third canto.
The Kings still held a 95-74 heading into the final stanza.
A Blankley free throw pulled the Hong Kong-based crew to within 93-106, only 3:44 left that proved too little, too late.
Reinforcement Myles Powell carried the fight for the Dragons with 29 points, seven caroms, and five feeds, while Blankley added 25 and nine.
Liu Chuanxing, Kobey Lam, and Glen Yang got 17, 13, and 10 markers, respectively, but Bay Area’s hopes of duplicating Nicholas Stoodley’s breakthrough triumph in 1980, the first win by an overseas squad in the pro league’s history, was repeatedly stymied by Ginebra’s determined stand to defend home territory, which has become the overriding theme in the title series.
