In front of a record-breaking crowd at the Philippine Arena, Barangay Ginebra decisively ended one of the most exciting championship series in league history by defeating foreign guest team Bay Area in Game Seven of the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, 114-99.

In front of an all-time high 54,589 spectators at the enormous arena in Bulacan, Ginebra shot the lights out and clamped down on Myles Powell in the first half to set the rout early and allow the Gin Kings to win the franchise’s 15th championship.

The Dragons brought the league’s most popular ballclub to Game Seven for the fifth time, forcing the Gin Kings to contend with one of their toughest finals ever, at least in recent memory.

Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson led Ginebra in the first half, and Jamie Malonzo took over in the third quarter to maintain the team’s comfortable advantage despite a late comeback by Powell, Hayden Blankley, and the Dragons in the fourth.

Thompson added 18 points and nine rebounds while taking up the task of holding Powell in handcuffs for the bulk of the game. Brownlee finished with 34 points, eight rebounds, and 12 assists.

Malonzo led Ginebra with 22 points and 17 rebounds in his first finals appearance, capping it off with a championship.

Later, Christian Standhardinger was named the MVP of the Finals.

Aguilar’s follow-up slam gave the team a 61-39 advantage after the first half, during which Brownlee had already scored 24 points. They maintained their momentum into the third quarter, taking the largest margin of victory in the game—28 points—at 75–47.

Tim Cone, coach of the Ginebras, admitted that the team was upset about Game Six. They were unwilling to attend Game Seven. The squad believed they controlled Game Six. They had a good response, too. The Team let it get away after believing they had things under control.

Game Seven was marred by anger. The players were fully focused from the very start, feeling the enthusiasm of the 54,000 spectators present even before Justin made the game’s first basket, according to Cone.

Powell scored 29 points; however, he only made nine of his 22 field goal attempts and only two of his 7 shots in the opening period. Blankley added 25 points.

The Scores

Barangay Ginebra 114 – Brownlee 34, Malonzo 22, Thompson 18, J. Aguilar 14, Standhardinger 12, Tenorio 10, Pringle 3, Gray 1, Pinto 0, Mariano 0.
Bay Area 99 – Powell 29, Blankley 25, Liu 17, Lam 13, Yang 10, Zhu 5, Ewing 0, Ju 0, Song 0, Reid 0.

Quarters: 27-21; 61-39; 95-74; 114-99.