Ginebra blasts Bay Area, claims PBA Commissioner's Cup crown in front of record crowd

MANILA, Philippines — The Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings brought the house down in Bocaue, Bulacan as they copped the 2023 PBA Commissioner's Cup crown against the Bay Area Dragons, 114-99, in Game Seven at the Philippine Arena on Sunday.

In front of a record crowd of 54,589 spectators — the biggest in PBA history — the Gin Kings demolished the guest team after finding themselves in a do-or-die situation.

The game looked decided as early as halftime with Justin Brownlee leading Ginebra to a 22-point advantage, 61-39, at the break. At that moment, it was the biggest margin of entire series.

But the beginning of the end for the Bay Area Dragons came early in the second quarter, when Ginebra went on a 13-4 run to create space anew after Bay Area got within two, 25-27, with 11:21 left in the period.

Since then, it was total dominance for the Gin Kings, who ballooned their lead to as big as 28, after Jamie Malonzo converted on a driving layup with 8:26 ticks remaining in the third salvo, 75-47.

The Gin Kings were in cruise control for most of the game as they took a wire-to-wire victory to seize the title.

Ginebra is now the second-winningest team in the league as they clinched their 15th PBA title overall, breaking a tie with the Magnolia Hotshots and the Alaska franchise.

Brownlee came up with 34 points in the victory built off four treys. He also added eight rebounds, 12 assists, a steal and three blocks.

Malonzo also proved his worth in the championship squad with a huge double-double of 22 points and 17 boards.

Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar chipped in 18 and 14 points, respectively.

Myles Powell, who was kept in check in the first half, finished with 29 markers, seven boards and five assists in the losing effort for the Dragons.