No letdown for Team NSD this time around.
The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings made sure to pounce on their hurting counterparts from Bay Area.
The 101-91 Game 5 win makes up for Ginebra’s big letdown in Game 4 of the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals, when the crowd darlings looked poised to take a 3-1 lead over the importless Dragons. But the Gin Kings failed to capitalize on Andrew Nicholson’s absence, looking lethargic and sometimes disengaged in the second half as Bay Area pulled off the stunning upset.
In Game 5, Ginebra again got the same break as Nicholson remained in street clothes — and then got another in the absence of Bay Area point guard Glen Yang. The 26-year-old Yang was in uniform but did not play as he nursed his own ankle injury, which he sustained in the fourth quarter of Game 4.
“We were certainly surprised when Glen Yang didn’t play . . . and that’s obviously a bonus [for Ginebra] because he’s a great point guard,” said Tim Cone in the post-game presser. “Then not to have Nicholson and still play the way they did . . . it just goes to show how tough they are, how talented they are . . .”
The Gin Kings know all those things firsthand, having been burned already in Game 4.
But, unlike in Game 4, Ginebra was able to advantage of Bay Area’s injury woes, playing with more energy from the get-go. The Gin Kings did not let up this time, keeping steady even after the Dragons finished the first quarter on a 17-3 tear and then making all the big plays down the stretch,
“We just wanted to come out and be aggressive and get this game because we know out of the next two games, we only need one,” said Justin Brownlee after Game 5.
It was the three-time Best Import who again led Ginebra’s charge, typing that game-long aggression with 37 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals, and 4 blocks. But it was Stanley Pringle who sealed the deal, drilling two dagger triples in the last two minutes to douse the Dragons’ comeback bid.
The Gin Kings did what they had to do in Game 5 — something they couldn’t do in Game 4 — and now they are a win away from winning another title.