MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) Displaying its trademark 'never say die' spirit, Barangay Ginebra pulled off a hard-earned 89-82 triumph over Bay Area in Game 3 of the 2022 PBA Commissioners' Cup Finals, Wednesday.

Buoyed by a crowd of over 15,000 fans at the Mall of Asia Arena, the Gin Kings erased a 14-point deficit and showcased veteran poise in crunch time to stun the Dragons.

Justin Brownlee spurred the come-from-behind win, scoring 19 of his game-high 34 points in the final quarter while Jamie Malonzo, LA Tenorio, and Scottie Thompson all hit big baskets in the final three minutes.

Ginebra now has a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 Finals series.

"Nothing was working for us today," said Ginebra coach Tim Cone, whose squad fell behind by double-digits repeatedly and trailed by 15, 59-45, in the third quarter. "We're not hitting shots, we're making a lot of defensive mistakes."

"But we just gotta keep working, look for something positive to happen, and you'll feel it. Might be a missed shot by them, a turnover, or maybe a layup or a dunk that we do that might spark us. We're just looking for a spark," he added.

Brownlee provided that spark, carrying Ginebra's offense in the fourth quarter through repeated forays to the basket. He drew the sixth and final foul of Bay Area swingman Hayden Blankley with 5:33 to go while shooting a three-pointer, and made two free throws to trim the deficit to five, 75-70.

The Dragons got crucial shots from Kobey Lam, including a layup with over four minutes to go for a 79-72 count. But it was all Ginebra from there: Brownlee converted a layup then assisted on a Tenorio three-pointer that made it a one-possession game, 79-77, with 3:14 left.

The beloved import went on to tie the game off a bank shot with 2:42 to go, before Thompson came through with a massive putback that gave the Gin Kings the lead for good, 81-79, with 1:26 left.

"Justin upped his motor and Scottie went crazy and got a couple of unbelievable rebounds and we got on a roll. The crowd kept feeding us and feeding us," said Cone.

On the other end, the Dragons struggled to deal with Ginebra's pressure defense, and their offense faltered as they rushed their shots. A three-pointer by Malonzo with 50 seconds to go, assisted by Thompson, made it a 5-point lead for the Gin Kings, 84-79.

The Dragons were dealt a further blow when their import, Andrew Nicholson, suffered what appeared to be a left ankle injury with 31.6 seconds left. He had to be helped back to their dugout even before the final buzzer had sounded.

A triple by Lam gave Bay Area some hope with 8.5 seconds to go, 85-82, but free throws by Brownlee and Tenorio held them off in the final seconds.

Christian Standhardinger finished with 15 points, while Thompson tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals. The Gin Kings won despite shooting just 34.9% from the field and missing 14 of their 38 attempts from the free throw line.

Nicholson had 23 points and 24 rebounds before suffering his injury; Lam finished with 17 points for the Dragons. However, they also committed 20 free throws that Ginebra turned to 26 points.

Game 4 of the series is on Friday at the MOA Arena.

The Scores:

GINEBRA 89 – Brownlee 34, Standhardinger 15, Thompson 14, Malonzo 10, Tenorio 8, Pringle 5, J.Aguilar 3, Mariano 0, Gray 0, Pinto 0

BAY AREA 82 – Nicholson 23, Lam 17, Zhu 12, Yang 11, Blankley 10, Ewing 3, Ju 2, Liu 2, Song 2, Reid 0

QUARTERS: 16-16, 35-37, 56-63, 89-82

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