The Bay Area Dragons did not have a strong finishing kick in three of the four quarters, and that cost them the game.
Bay Area was in control of Game 3 about three-fourths of the time, maybe even more. And yet the Dragons still lost 89-82, felled by another furious fight back authored by Team Never Say Die.
The Dragons’ other import, the sidelined Myles Powell, immediately took to Twitter to rue the free throw disparity — 38 for Ginebra, 10 for Bay Area. Coach Brian Goorjian also had his lips sealed when asked about the officiating.
Whatever opinion you have about that aspect of Game 3, it is difficult to spare the Dragons completely because they also blew this game, plain and simple. They blew it because they could not close out each of the last three quarters.
Consider the second quarter. Bay Area erected its first double digit lead, 35-25, and looked on its way to blowing the game open. In the last 4:31 before the break, the Dragons coughed up the ball five times, allowing Ginebra to finish the quarter with a 10-2 spurt. In the third period, Bay Area was ahead 61-49 with 1:21 left, but turned the ball over twice, leading to the Gin Kings uncorking a 7-2 mini-run to inch closer, 63-56.
Ginebra saved the best for last, unleashing a 17-3 windup in the final 4:19 to steal Game 3. In that stretch, the Dragons took nothing but jumpers — including four long balls — and missed every one of them. They also committed two turnovers.
In nearly 10 minutes of end-of-quarter play from the second to the fourth period, Bay Area turned the ball over 9 times, missed 10 shots (all jumpers, 9 from beyond the arc), and got outscored by 27 points (34-7).
That inability to close out quarters doomed these Dragons. The Gin Kings were there for the taking, but Bay Area let them off the hook one too many times.