The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is scheduled for a championship round Game 4 against the Bay Area Dragons at 5:45 PM on January 6, 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 Gin Kings were able to dodge a bullet in Game 3 and now they’re in a better position with their 2-1 series advantage. Yet, that could pose more challenge to them as they know major adjustment from the Dragons is on the way as they attempt to avoid a deeper hole.
The visiting Bay Area squad may now understand and really felt the effect of Ginebra’s secret weapon and that’s their ever-loyal supporters. The Dragons were in control of the game especially in the second and third quarters until Gin Kings ignited its famous “Never-Say-Die” spirit in the fourth quarter to snatch the victory.
“The crowd kept feeding us, feeding us. We were really hungry as we weren’t getting much early and we fed on that feel from the crowd,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.
The veteran head coach who won multiple championships including a couple of grand slams asked his troops to keep on fighting until they find their rhythm to spark a comeback.
“Nothing’s working for us the whole game but I said to them we just gotta keep on working, look for something positive to spark us,” said Cone.
Then in the final quarter, Justin Brownlee found his shooting stroke to lead Ginebra’s offense while the reigning Most Valuable Player, Scottie Thompson do his thing and that’s rebounding and putting back baskets. Jamie Malonzo and LA Tenorio sealed the deal with their clutch three-pointers to completely slam the door for Bay Area.
“Suddenly, Justin upped his motor and Scottie (Thompson) went crazy and got a couple of unbelievable rebounds and we got on a roll,” Cone said.
For the Dragons, on the other hand, their import Andrew Nicholson status is in limbo after he rolled his foot in the final moments in Game 3. He was seen leaving the Mall of Asia Arena in a wheelchair and was rushed to a nearby hospital. Many expect that Myles Powell will suit up as a replacement though he is also on their team’s injured list.
Either Nicholson will have its surprise return and come back healthy or Powell will lead the offense of the Bay Area, the Gin Kings might already have their plans to get the commanding 3-1 advantage.
“We know that Powell is in the background. We don’t know if he is healthy or whether they can change to him or not. We don’t know that stuff. We will try to be prepared for anything,” said Cone. “In any case, we will have to change the way we play defense. It would be interesting,” he added.