It’s do or die for the wounded guest team and finalist of the PBA Commissioner's Cup.
A short-handed Bay Area Dragons put up a good fight in Game 5 of the Commissioner’s Cup Finals, but they still fell to a poised Barangay Ginebra squad, 91-101. The guest team played without their key players in import Andrew Nicholson, who sprained his ankle late in Game 3, and starting point guard Glen Yang, who was also out due to an ankle injury he suffered in Game 4.
Dragons swingman Hayden Blankley, who took up the cudgels for his wounded teammates by scoring 29 points, had also hurt his ankle in the waning seconds of the pivotal Game 5. Down 3-2 in the series, an embattled Bay Area crew will come into Wednesday’s tiff with three of their best personnel’s health status in question.
According to Dragons head coach Brian Goorjian, the window is open for all three ailing cagers to suit up in Game 6, but nothing is guaranteed.
Nicholson — the counterpart of Ginebra’s super import Justin Brownlee — is a coin flip decision, but Goorjian says they might give him a go since they're in a must-win situation.
"I’d say 50/50 . . . We lose, we’re out. It’s come to that point. So, if there’s any chance, we’ll roll the dice. So, I’m putting 50/50 there."
Glen Yang’s return seemed more promising as the decorated tactician expressed how much the team missed their floor general’s leadership, especially on offense. The Bay Area Coach really sounded as if he was speaking his top floor general’s availability into existence.
"And I’m putting 75/25 on Glen. And really for our team, and the way we’re put together, Glen is invaluable . . . It was noticeable from a coaching standpoint," Goorjian said, while explaining how Yang is his extension on the court — like a true blue point guard. "He wasn’t there tonight. I miss him.’
As for Blankley, the Dragons finally caught a break. When asked about the 6-foot-6 guard’s apparent injury, Goorjian quickly replied, "He’s fine."
Of course, if Nicholson and Yang could join Blankley in Game 6, the chances of Bay Area forcing a winner-take-all would definitely improve. Still, the home team has all the momentum on their side. Right now a bigger concern for Ginebra might be LA Tenorio who sustained a groin injury that caused him to miss almost the entire second half of Game 5.