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Bay Area beats SMB to set finals date with Ginebra

By Ivan Stewart Saldajeno

December 21, 2022, 10:27 pm

<p>Bay Area Dragons<em> (File photo courtesy of PBA Images)</em></p>

Bay Area Dragons (File photo courtesy of PBA Images)

MANILA – Bay Area joined Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals after beating San Miguel, 94-92, in Game 4 of their semifinal series on Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The Dragons took the narrow win as the Beermen could not buy a basket in the endgame.

With his team down 88-89, Kobey Lam hit a crucial three-pointer to put Bay Area ahead, 91-89, with 2:47 left.

CJ Perez had a chance to tie the game with two free throws off an Andrew Nicholson foul, but he could only split his charities and Nicholson fired another three to give the Hong Kong-based team a 94-90 cushion with 1:33 remaining.

Devon Scott missed two freebies in the next play, but made up for it a minute later after drilling two more with only 33 seconds left.

Zhu Songwei missed a layup attempt that could have iced the game for the Dragons, and June Mar Fajardo grabbed the rebound to give the Beermen one last chance to tie or win the game.

However, Perez missed a three-pointer and Fajardo missed the putback that could have forced overtime as SMB's comeback ended in heartbreak.

Nicholson exploded for 42 points on 15-of-23 field goals including 6-of-10 from the three-point area with 21 rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Lam added 26 points, five rebounds and five assists for Bay Area.

Perez fired 28 points on 12-of-21 shooting, six rebounds, two assists, and three steals, while Scott added 15 markers, 19 boards, eight dimes, and two steals for SMB. (PNA)

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