Brgy.

Ginebra wins over Bay Area Dragons

The Barangay Ginebra scored a huge second-quarter fun to pummel Bay Area Dragons, 114-99, in Game
7 of the finals to win the 2022-23 PBA Commissioner's Cup before the record crowd at the Philippine
Arena in Bocaue. It marks the 15th PBA championship for the Ginebra franchise, but it’s just the third
won in the Commissioner's Cup. Ginebra led from the start to finish and it quickly turned to what was
predicted to be an epic Game 7 into a route in front of almost 54,589 fans who set a new PBA single-
game attendance record. 

The title allowed Ginebra to break a three-way tie with the Alaska and Magnolia franchises for second-
most in the league history. San Miguel Beer men remain No. 1 with 25. But amid the revelry of capturing
the 7th title in the 15 championships, there were still questions as to how Brgy. Ginebra did it and how
meaningful it was to beat a team as formidable as the Hong Kong-based Dragons.

“We were totally surprised at how well we played and that we were able to handle Bay Area. The only
explanation we can really give was that the crowd really lifted us to that performance,” said Coach Tim
Cone, the man behind all of the team’s last seven titles that were won in the last seasons. “The energy
from the crowd really boosted us to levels I don’t think we could get to in this team,” he added.

With this win, recently-naturalized Justin Brownlee, who dropped 34 points, eight rebounds and 12
assists, is now six-for-six in the PBA finals. There were other players for Barangay Ginebra in this series.
Newcomer Jamie Malonzo proved to be a valuable piece, while LA Tenorio battled through an injury in
the last two games and came up with a huge triple near the end of the second quarter that capped a big
Ginebra run. Most Ginebra players had not played at Philippine Arena since 2019, but its familiarity with
the venue was certainly a plus.

Playing before a crowd of almost 54,589 for the first time appeared to have overwhelmed the Bay Area
side. The Dragons have gotten used to the hostile environment of the Mall of Asia Arena and Smart
Araneta Coliseum, but not before an environment of such magnitude.