WHICH team will move on the cusp of a championship in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup?
That will be determined on Sunday night as Bay Area and Barangay Ginebra return on the court to resume their finals tussle at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
See Bay Area import Andrew Nicholson declared unfit to play in Game 5
Gametime is at 5:45 p.m.
Thus far, the series have been a see-saw affair.
The recent winner was Bay Area after it pulled off a 94-86 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game Four to even the series at 2-2.
The Dragons captured the victory even without an import with Andrew Nicholson sidelined with an ankle sprain. Kobey Lam stepped up in the absence of Nicholson as he provided 30 points and shot eight threes.
“I thought the guys were brave and fearless,” said Bay Area coach Brian Goorjian.
The Dragons need another similar performance to move closer to the finals, with Nicholson expected to sit out Game Five once again.
Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile, will look to continue the trend of winning the odd-numbered games on Sunday, but the Gin Kings will have to earn it, with the Dragons expected to play once again with a lot of fire with Nicholson out.
“We've seen games like that before, when the import is out and you can catch a team sleeping. We have no excuses. Like we said at the beginning, this is going to be a tough series. Nothing ever comes easy in the Finals,” said Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson will try to bounce back after their coronation of winning the Best Import and Best Player of the Conference award were ruined by the Game Four defeat against the Dragons.