‘Inexperience’ proves costly for Bay Area Dragons in PBA Commissioner’s Cup Game 3 defeat to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
- Justin Brownlee dominates with game-high 32 points as Ginebra overhaul 14-point deficit in Manila
- Hostile crowd of 15,000 takes Dragons by surprise, while concern grows over Andrew Nicholson’s fitness
The Bay Area Dragons squandered a 14-point lead in a 89-82 Game 3 upset in the Philippines Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals on Wednesday night.
Defeat at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila leaves the Chinese franchise trailing Barangay Ginebra San Miguel 2-1 going into Game 4 of the best-of-seven-series on Friday.
The league-leading Dragons, who came into the finals with a 10-2 regular season record, led for much of the game, and turned a 37-35 half-time advantage into a 14-point cushion with about two minutes to go in the third quarter.
But their opponents, roared on by a raucous home crowd of 15,000, had other ideas.
American import Justin Brownlee, who dominated with a game-high 32 points, capped a mini 7-0 run to tie the game at 79-apiece for the Philippines team with less than three minutes remaining.
Ginebra then used another 10-3 run to seal the comeback win, with Brownlee’s 19 points matching the entire Dragons team in the final quarter.
Hong Kong basketball star Glen Yang, who finished with 11 points and six assists, cited “fatigue and inexperience” in the Dragons’ surprising loss.
“We missed open looks and took some rushed shots and we turned the ball over far too often,” Yang said.
