It’s been a PBA Finals to remember, as Chris McCullough boldly claimed before the heavyweight rematch between TNT and Barangay Ginebra for the Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup title.
And the comebacking import himself is playing a huge part, especially after writing history together with Justin Brownlee in Game 6 on Sunday night — a bout that became a slugfest between the two exciting reinforcements.
Both men dropped 50-plus points for their respective teams, but it was ‘C-Mac’ who came out on top of the showdown. He willed the Tropang 5G to a 98-90 victory to force a Game 7 and, more importantly, keep their title defense alive.
“Just to come out and be aggressive, take my shots and not shy away from the shots even though I’ve been missing a lot,” he said of his Herculean performance shortly after the match at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The one-time Commissioner’s Cup champion with San Miguel dropped a career-high 53 points, 16 of which he made in the final period. That included the dagger four for the 94-86 lead with 1:52 that broke the Kings’ backs.
He shot an efficient 55.6-percent from the floor, and also collected 22 rebounds plus a pair of assists, a steal, and a block in an all-out effort.
Brownlee, on the other hand, finished with 52 for back-to-back 50-point outings after dropping 54 in their Game 5 win. That in itself is a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in a very long while, per league stats chief Fidel Mangonon.
He’s the first player in about 37 years to have back-to-back 50-point games in the PBA Finals since Añejo Rum’s Carlos Briggs, who produced at least 52 in all five games of the 1989 Reinforced Conference Finals versus the Beermen.
McCullough and Brownlee have also become the first opposing imports to score 50 each in the PBA Finals since Game 4 of that very same series, when Briggs had 60 while Ennis Whatley made 50 in SMB’s 150-136 victory.
The way that they delivered in front of 22,731 fans at the Big Dome brought back into light the statements issued by the former NBA pro during the pre-Finals presser held last June 1 at the nearby Novotel Manila Araneta City.
“I think this is truly gonna be one of the PBA Finals that’s gonna be remembered for a long time. Great team, and we’re going up against a great player,” McCullough said back then, which piqued the interest of those present.
Fast forward to now, and he may see his take vindicated following the classic duel between hoopers who have known each other from way back, at a time when they were still starting out their own careers in New York.
Soon, they’ll head to a Game Seven, which are — for some — the two best words in sports. Needless to say, McCullough is looking forward to it.
“It’s the last game,” he said. “I feel like both teams will leave it all on the line. And at this point, our motivation is high, our momentum is good, and we’re playing good team basketball. But we still gotta finish the job.”
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