THE Bay Area Dragons go into another PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals game with the prospect of playing without an import hanging over their collective heads.
The foreign guest team played without Andrew Nicholson in Game Four and will go into the pivotal fifth game of the best-of-seven series with their 33-year old import once again in doubt due to an injury.
READ: LA Tenorio on Ginebra loss: 'We fell into a trap'
One team official who spoke on the condition of anomymity said Nicholson has been declared unfit to play in Game Five, saying the ankle which he badly rolled after stepping on Jamie Malonzo's foot in Game Three has not fully healed.
"[Ankle still] swollen and sore," said the team official.
But unlike last Friday, the Dragons are taking the news with a lot more calmness after overcoming the absence of their 6-10 import to beat Ginebra, 94-86, and reduce the title series into a best-of-three affair.
However, the Dragons are expected to be underdogs again in Game Five against a Ginebra side that will be eager to atone for the letdown on Friday.
Nicholson, who wore a boot to protect his foot when he watched Game Four, averaged 26.67 points and 17 rebounds in the three games that he played in the finals against Ginebra - numbers that will be hard to fill even for a star-studded Bay Area side.
Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian has also ruled out a return for Myles Powell, the Dragons' other mport who is still in the country but has yet to recover from a foot injury he suffered in practice.
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