Barangay Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo vs Bay Area Dragons. PBA . IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines-The big win that may have tarnished the Bay Area Dragons’ reputation as the team to beat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup has not only boosted Barangay Ginebra’s confidence levels but also allowed coach Tim Cone sees a glimpse of the future of Jamie Malonzo and Jeremiah Grey.
“This is basically the new Ginebra in many ways,” he said after adventures 111-93 of the dragons in Gin Kings on Sunday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City in a power struggle that turned into a destructive derby in the second half.
Malonzo once again impressed Cone with another consistent effort behind his versatility and athleticism while Gray was finally in action, albeit for a limited few minutes, after he recovered. recovering from an ACL injury even before entering the Rookie Draft.
A 17-point effort, six recoveries from Malonzo provided ample assistance to enter Justin Brownlee’s 46-point eruption even as Gray scored five goals in nearly 11 minutes and added three recoveries.
Barangay Ginebra’s Jeremiah Gray against the Bay Area Dragons in the 2022 PBA Commissioners Cup. PBA PICTURE
Both are purchased during the season—Gray after procedural draft from Terrafirma and Malonzo from NorthPort before the start of the mid-season convention — to inject youth into a Ginebra team full of veterans, which was an annual championship game.
And many consider the two to end up being among the main characters in the Gin Kings quest to bring more glory to themselves and their fans, which they hope can come in the future. near the.
“Jamie and Jeremiah, they have a lot of capacity with what we do and I think they’re going to be really interesting for the games as we move on,” Cone said, although acknowledging that both are still in the mix. adjustment phase.
“They are still learning about us, they are still learning about their teammates, they are still learning about them, so we expect them to improve. This is a glimpse of how we might become if we were leading our game. We were definitely on top of our game [against Bay Area]. “
Barangay Ginebra coach Tim Cone. PBA . IMAGES
Ginebra is truly at the top of its game after putting together a performance that stopped the Bay Area’s unbeaten start to four games, and also its first loss in 13 since arriving in Manila in August last year.
Cone likes to say that Ginebra did nothing out of the ordinary in crafting a win in a way that changed the course of the original title chase.
“I don’t think we did anything special,” Cone said.
There’s a reason the Dragons come to the mid-season tournament as an away team that could return to Hong Kong with a trophy.
Coach Brian Goorjian steered the Bay Area to victory in all nine draws, a result that ultimately put the Dragons off to a 4-0 start after the second grand slam.
However, there were early signs of creases in the Bay Area’s armor. A triple hit by import Myles Powell helped the Dragons get out of their jaws of defeat against NorthPort Batang Pier, and recently survived Converge FiberXers after the 23-point gap was reduced to four, before finishing. win with six.
But the Bay Area ultimately suffered a setback to start the first half of a harsh test game. The other round will take place next Sunday when the Dragons face June Mar Fajardo and San Miguel Beermen at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I think our intensity is sky-high, and that’s the key to playing them,” Cone said. “It was like a Final for us, it really happened. I had that feeling during the day and we were very motivated. “
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