The shorthanded Bay Area got a much-needed shot in the arm with the return of Myles Powell as the Dragons try to stop Ginebra’s coronation in Game 6 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals series on Wednesday, Jan. 11, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Dragons reactivated the high-scoring import on Tuesday, Jan. 10, just in time for their do-or-die clash where they are looking to live for another day and drag the series to a winner-take-all Game 7 at the Philippine Arena on Friday, Jan. 13.
Bay Area has been playing with a depleted lineup but nonetheless showed great resolve and resilience and even scored a victory in Game 4 that knotted the series to 2-2 even without Andrew Nicholson in the lineup.
They almost completed another one in Game 5 with Hayden Blankley and Kobey Lam leading the charge in the huge fourth quarter flurry before it was doused by the heroics of Stanley Pringle whose back-to-back triples down the stretch slammed the door on Bay Area’s comeback hopes.
Adding to the injury woes of Bay Area was the ankle injury to Glen Yang who sat out Game 5. Even without two of their starters, however, the Dragons still threatened to take the game away from Ginebra if not for the clutch triples from Stanley Pringle late in the contest.
The Dragons quickly addressed the scoring and playmaking they missed in the absence of Yang and Nicholson with the return of Powell who averaged 37.24 points, 8.38 rebounds and three assists through eight games.
Powell, though, was forced to sit out the playoffs after sustaining an ankle injury in practice after the eliminations.
Bay Area is undefeated in the mid-season conference when Powell is playing, putting much pressure on the Ginebra’s backcourt defense anchored on Best Player of the Conference Scottie Thompson.
The Kings guard rotation however took a hit following the groin injury of LA Tenorio who remains questionable for Game 6, giving more responsibilities for the likes of Pringle and Nards Pinto.