Kobey Lam refused to see Bay Area fall into a precarious spot, willing his side to a come-from-behind 94-86 win over Ginebra to tie the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at two games apiece, Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Stepping up in Andrew Nicholson’s absence, the 22-year-old finished with 30 points, including eight straight to push their lead to 84-72 with under five minutes left before Hayden Blankley and Zhu Songwei closed it out to secure the win.
Lam shot 55-percent from the floor that saw him nail eight three-pointers, and also collected nine rebounds, four assists, a steal, and a block to lead the guest team in bouncing back from that collapse the last time out.
“Being down 1-2 in the series is tough. For this game, it was really important for us. We don’t want to be down 3-1,” said Lam.
Zhu finished with 18 points, including five straight to open the final frame to give Bay Area the lead for good, 65-61. The 6-foot-9 forward was also responsible for pushing their lead to a game-high 13, 89-76, with under four minutes left.
Glen Yang fired 18 markers as well together with four boards, four dimes, and two steals, while Blankley and Liu Chuanxing contributed significantly.
The 7-foot-5 slotman tallied eight points and eight rebounds that saw him nail crucial baskets in the fourth, while Blankley added seven markers and eight boards despite shooting poorly again with a 3-of-16 clip.
It was indeed a collective effort by the Hong Kong-based ball club, who missed the services of Nicholson as he’s listed as day-to-day due to the left ankle injury he suffered in the final seconds of Game Three two nights ago.
Still, the former NBA cager joined his team on the sidelines, albeit in street clothes and with a protective boot.
“I’m proud of my young team playing in a game like this and competing and getting a win. I’m really proud right now,” said head coach Brian Goorjian.
Bay Area not only reduced the series to a virtual best-of-three but also spoiled the night of Scottie Thompson and Justin Brownlee, who were crowned Best Player of the Conference and Best Import, respectively, prior to the game.
Brownlee also saw his triple-double effort of 23 points,13 rebounds, and 11 assists go for naught because of the loss, where the crowd darlings failed to sustain the 12-point lead they established in the first half.
Thompson, meanwhile, had 18 points. Japeth Aguilar had 12 points while LA Tenorio added 11 for the Barangay, who once again shot 38-percent.
Game Five is on Sunday in the same battleground.
The Scores:
Bay Area 94 – Lam 30, Yang 18, Zhu 18, Liu 8, Reid 8, Blankley 7, Song 3, Zheng 2, Ewing 0, Ju 0.
Ginebra 86 – Brownlee 23, Thompson 18, J.Aguilar 12, Tenorio 11, Pringle 9, Standhardinger 8, Malonzo 5, Mariano 0, Gray 0, Pinto 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 38-46, 60-61, 94-86
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
