Dragons roar back to life

MANILA, Philippines — Myles Powell is back with a vengeance and so is Bay Area’s title bid.

With Powell providing firepower, the Dragons breathed back to life and stopped Barangay Ginebra, 87-84, to drag the Gin Kings to a rubbermatch for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup crown last night.

Unruffled by the constant jeers from the 22,361-strong Ginebra “Sixth Man” at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, Powell gunned down 12 clutch points in the last eight minutes to provide the fuel to Bay Area’s gutsy comeback from seven points down and resuscitating Game 6 win.

Powell finished with 29 markers spiked by five triples to herald his return after being sidelined by a foot injury last November and send the marquee title showdown to a deciding Game 7. From its original schedule tomorrow, the decider was reset to Sunday, also at the 50,000-plus-seater Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“It’s about being there with my brothers and the will to win,” said Powell, whose re-entry filled the import slot missing when Andrew Nicholson (ankle sprain) sat out in the last two games.

“We all know the job – to go out and win. We knew what’s at stake and how great Ginebra is. Whatever we lack, they’re going to punch us. So we stuck together and had each other’s back,” he added.

The Gin Kings threatened to close out the embattled Dragons as they built momentum from a 22-16 third quarter to wrest control and seized a 73-67 margin at the start of the fourth.

Then Powell came to the rescue.

From being on the brink, the Dragons got themselves in good position to steal it all.

“If it were a best-of-three, we lost 2-1 and we’re out. If it were a best-of-five, we lost 3-2. Tonight, we stepped up to the plate and have a crack and leave nothing behind. So now again, we’re playing with the bank’s money,” said coach Brian Goorjian.

Hayden Blankley rifled in 23 on a six-of-10 three-point shooting clip to backstop Powell.

Justin Brownlee, who did the heavy lifting in the third-quarter turnaround, banged in 37 for the Gin Kings, whose scoreless spell in the last 1:24 did them in.

Japeth Aguilar even had a chance to send the game into overtime but missed his triple attempt at the buzzer.