With import Andrew Nicholson out, the Dragons needed someone to take over Game 4. Perhaps fittingly, a man named Kobey stepped up to the plate big time.
Staring long odds and a 1-3 deficit, the Bay Area Dragons needed to play their best as a team. They also needed a go-to guy. The Dragons did play superbly as a team, with everyone from Zhu Songwei, to Glen Yang, to Hayden Blankley chipping in.
Lam did more than chip in. He took over.
The youngest player in this tournament at just 22 years old, Lam played like a seasoned vet in Game 4. Missing in action in Game 1 and largely a nonfactor in Games 2 and 3, Lam played arguably the game of his young life when Bay Area needed it most, scoring a game-high 30 points on 8 triples and adding 9 rebounds and 4 assists. He also hit timely baskets all game long, starting with back-to-back bombs from beyond early in the first to settle Bay Area down after an iffy 2-7 start.
“Being down 1-2 is tough . . . we didn’t want to go down 3-1,” Lam said at the post-game presser. “We had to step up more, if that means like extra rebounds, or just extra more shots, more buckets.”
And the young guard got more buckets. Lam’s treys in the second and third kept the Dragons within striking distance of Ginebra, setting up the visitor’s fiery fourth quarter, where they outscored the Gin Kings, 34-25. It was also Lam who closed the show for Bay Area, scoring eight straight midway through the payoff period to extend a 76-72 lead to an 84-72 cushion.
Lam, in that stretch, looked every bit his namesake. He drilled two contested pull-up treys, both at least a foot away from the arc, plus a tough turnaround fadeaway in between. Each time out, he looked to get the ball, went to his spot, and let it fly — confidently and decisively. It was like that from the get-go for Lam, who also opened the scoring for Bay Area with an aggressive driving layup.
Put simply, Game 4 was “The Kobey Lam Game.” And Bay Area will be looking for an encore come Sunday.