Winner to take all
The PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals now boils down to a deciding Game 7 after Chris McCullough carried TNT to a hard-fought win on Sunday.
McCullough won his personal offensive duel with Justin Brownlee after his 53-point outburst gave the Tropang 5G another lifeline after a 98-90 win over Barangay Ginebra at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
He made most of the 22,731 fans at the Big Dome disappointed as TNT managed to atone for its overtime loss in Game 5, when Brownlee single-handedly carried the Gin Kings to a signature comeback.
Brownlee followed-up his 54-point showing on Friday with 52 but got little local support in what was the first shot for the Gin Kings to end a three-year championship wait.
Instead, the Kings will have to battle it out in a game described by many as the “best two words in sports” on Wednesday as Ginebra will try to write a different ending to this series.
McCullough’s performance was in a way a direct response to how Brownlee dominated action in the Game 5 overtime thriller as the second championship of the league’s landmark 50th season will be disputed at Mall of Asia Arena where the Tropang 5G will seek to retain their crown in the same fashion they won it last year—by winning Game 7 after being down 3-2 in the series.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” McCullough, whose pro career began with the Brooklyn Nets in 2015 in the NBA, said. “I’ve been doing this for 12 years so I know how to do it.”
Coach Chot Reyes lauded McCullough, who also had 22 rebounds to tie his career-high in two PBA tour of duties that started with a title-winning stint with San Miguel Beer, which interestingly enough, came against Reyes and his TNT crew in 2019.
“C-Mac got tired of Justin eating his lunch,” Reyes said.
TNT won despite missing Calvin Oftana and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, who were game-time decisions after sustaining injuries in Game 5. Reyes gave no assurance for their availabilities for the decider.
Ginebra will have to find ways to get more support from Brownlee, with RJ Abarrientos only having six points on 1-of-11 shooting and Scottie Thompson also cold and finished with only three points.
The Tropang 5G got a slight edge in terms of supporting roles as Jordan Heading scored 19 points with RR Pogoy adding 13.
Fans packed the rafters of the fabled Big Dome as Game 6’s turnout was the biggest recorded by the league in the last three seasons or since more than 54,000 flocked the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan for Ginebra’s match against the Bay Area Dragons.
