The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is scheduled for a championship round Game 3 against the Bay Area Dragons at 5:45 PM on January 4, 2023 live from the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City, Metro Manila.
Note: Livestream starts at 5:45 PM, refresh this page to watch the live game at the mentioned game time.
The best-of-seven series is now converted to only best-of-five after the Dragons bounced back big time in Game 2 to even the series at 1-all. Now, the ball is with the Gin Kings for them to adjust if they want to regain momentum. Yet, their opponent wanted to do the opposite and aim for back-to-back wins in this championship series.
As Filipinos, Christmas and New Year are the most prominent event every year yet for the Gin Kings seems like the celebrations put them out of focus and cost them a game, though they were able to secure the victory last December 25.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of focus from the start I felt. They got everything they wanted tonight, and we didn’t get anything that we wanted to do. They did a great job of disrupting (us),” said Cone.
Justin Brownlee and Jaime Malozo are the only Ginebra players who registered in double figures with 32 and 10 points respectively. LA Tenorio who torched the Bay Area in Game 1 was limited to only 8 points on an awful 3-of-11 shooting from the field while reigning MVP and favorite to win as the Best Player of the Conference, Scottie Thompson was only good for nine points and was also dismal from the field with 4-of-11.
With one week break, team NSD is positive that they’re able to bounce back.
“Malaking (bagay), kasi nga yung sa mga adjustments namin, mas makakapag-prepare kami especially yung mga maglalaro ng heavy minutes makakapag-pahinga lalo na si Justin (Brownlee),” said Thompson.
The Dragons, on the other hand, seem figured out how to defeat the most beloved team in the PBA. From their three meetings only once they beat Ginebra which includes their lone meeting in the elimination round. That strategy could be playing defense without committing a lot of fouls.
“Tonight, we defended without fouling. We adjusted on the PBA rules, and we have to stay that way moving forward,” said Goorjian.
Apart from that, coach Goorjian was able to make plays to free Andrew Nicholson from his defenders. In Game 2, the former NBA player dropped 30 points and 15 rebounds.
“The series is not over yet. Five more games in the series left, and we’ll see what happens,” said Nicholson.
Likewise, Bay Area’s 6-foot-10 forward Zhu Songwei is more hyped up, especially since his primary assignment is to shut down Justin Brownlee.
“Everything starts with defense. And as a player, I make sure I play good defense, and everything will follow from there,” Zhu said.