Myles Powell and Kobey Lam struck with 37 and 30 points, respectively, for the Bay Area Dragons in their 140-108 crushing of the struggling TNT Tropang Giga yesterday at the close of their elimination round campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Lam had 13 points in the last quarter as the Dragons ended up at the top of the standings with their 10-2 win-loss slate, securing themselves a twice-to-win advantage in the quarterfinals
This became the Tropang Giga’s worst setback since their 72—108 rout in the hands of Alaska in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals.
Tropang Giga now has a 4-7 slate in 10th place and is headed to become the team’s seventh-worst losses in franchise history.
“We came here to grow and get better, and through the competition here. I think the big plus for us for our season is that local kids keep on improving,” said Dragons coach Brian Goorjian.
The Dragons played in a no-nonsense manner, as they finished the first half with a season-best 80 points, an 80-60 halftime lead, and Powell tallying 29 points.
This is considered the highest output in a PBA game since the San Miguel Beermen routed Columbian Dyip 143-119 on Sept. 21 in the 2018 Governors Cup eliminations.
The Dragons held the Tropang Giga to 10 points in the first six minutes of the fourth, while Lam banged in 13 points to keep his team comfortably ahead.
Big man Duncan Reid shot 10 points, including the bucket that lifted Bay Area past the century mark, 101-70, with less than five minutes left.
The Dragons now have an opportunity to clinch the no. 1 seeding.
This can happen if Barangay Ginebra, presently in the third spot with a 7-2 record, loses one of its remaining games.
Ginebra still has games against NLEX, NorthPort, and Converge.