By REYNALD MAGALLON
The opening page of what is expected to be another epic chapter to the storied Manila Clasico rivalry definitely lived up to the billing.
The good-sized crowd was left sitting at the edge of their seats up until the final second as Ginebra San Miguel squeezed past Magnolia, 87-84, to draw first blood in Game 1 of their best-of-five semifinals series in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday, Dec. 14.
Despite playing a Nick Rakocevic-less Hotshots for the most part of the second half, the Kings still had to lean on the big basket from a Christian Standhardinger and a couple of crucial defensive stops to put the game away.
Holding a seven point cushion, 85-78, halfway through the payoff period, Ginebra saw Magnolia make a last ditch run behind an and-1 play from Jackson Corpuz and a booming triple from Paul Lee.
Standhardinger though gave the Kings some breathing room with a jumper from the elbow with 1:26 left before Ginebra dodged huge bullets as Magnolia missed all of its last heaves from beyond the arc – first from Lee and the last from Aris Dionisio with seven seconds left.
Jamie Malonzo put up a game-long brilliance with 21 points and 12 rebounds while Scottie Thompson provided support with 16 points and seven rebounds. Justin Brownlee was limited to just 11 points – his second lowest in his PBA career – although he had 13 rebounds and seven assists.
Lee, on the other hand, paced the Hotshots with 21 points spiked by four triples but were not enough to make up for the absence of Rakocevic who hit the showers with still 6:31 left in the third frame.
Rakocevic finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds before exiting the game while Aris Dionisio added 12. Calvin Abueva had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds while Ian Sangalang added 10 markers and nine boards.
Meantime, Bay Area came through with big plays down the stretch to pull off a 103-102 escape over San Miguel in the thrilling Game 1 of their own semis.
The Dragons showed unwavering resolve battling from a huge 16-point deficit before pulling off defensive stops that led to two huge baskets from Hayden Blankley and Kobey Lam in the waning minutes to draw the series first blood.
Trailing by three, 102-99 with 50 ticks left on the clock, Bay Area tightened up its defensive crews and found a way to stop SMB’s vaunted offense which, all night long, had rode the hot hands of Terrence Romeo, Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez.
Blankley first scored on a layup off a Bay Area timeout before the Dragons managed to keep the ball away from the hands of Perez, Lassiter and June Mar Fajardo in the ensuing play to force the Beermen to a hurried trey from Jericho Cruz.
Bay Area was then quick to pounce on the opportunity as Lam raced ahead to their front court for a layup that put the Dragons on top, 103-102. The PBA guest team then completed another crucial stop, bothering SMB import Devon Scott enough to miss a fadeaway jumper at the buzzer.
Andrew Nicholson remained solid for Bay Area with a double-double of 30 points and 15 rebounds but it was Zhu Songwei who kept the Dragons afloat even in the face of the massive third quarter run from the Beermen where they built the biggest lead, 83-67.
He finished with 19 points and seven assists while Blankley and Lam finished with 15 and 12 respectively.
First Game
BAY AREA 103 – Nicholson 30, Zhu 19, Blankley 15,Ju 13, Lam 12, Yang 9, Liu 5, Song 0, Reid 0.
SAN MIGUEL 102 – Perez 24, Romeo 21, Lassiter 16, Cruz 11, Fajardo 11, Scott 9, Enciso 8, Ross 2, Brondial 0.
Quarters: 23-31, 51-59, 78-89, 103-102.
Second Game
GINEBRA 87 – Malonzo 21, Thompson 16, Standhardinger 14, Brownlee 11, Pringle 8, Tenorio 6, J.Aguilar 6, Gray 3, Mariano 2.
MAGNOLIA 84 – Lee 21, Dionisio 12, Sangalang 10, Abueva 10, Dela Rosa 7, Jalalon 6, Barroca 4, Corpuz 4, Mendoza 0, Reavis 0, Wong 0, Laput 0.
Quarters: 24-22, 45-44, 70-67, 87-84.
