BARANGAY Ginebra accomplished its mission to repel a foreign invasion, pulling off an iconic feat with a 114-99 conquest of Bay Area to reclaim the PBA Commissioner's Cup before a record crowd of 54,589 screaming souls at the Philippine Arena Sunday.
It was an incredible sight inside the cavernous Bocaue, Bulacan playing venue, with the Gin Kings whooping it up like they never did before when they completed a title run heralding victory not just for the franchise but the entire home front.
And certainly making the moment more special was the crowd of over 54,000 celebrating with their proud heroes beating a guest team in a do-or-die setto.
"Fifty-four thousand! Fifty-four thousand! Fifty-four thousand!" Ginebra coach Tim Cone hollered before leading everybody to chants of "Ginebra! Ginebra! Ginebra!" during the awards rites.
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Standing at mid court after nailing his 25th PBA championship -- seventh with Ginebra -- Cone acknowledged the great effort of his team and the amazing energy they drew from the crowd.
"From the opening tip, we feel the energy. It was truly from all of you [addressing the crowd), and it was amazing, it was great," said Cone.
With their "Sixth Man" truly behind them, Justin Brownlee and his teammates came out strong and put up a relentless effort in a dominant disposal of Myles Powell and the Bay Area team in this series decider.
"I'm just happy to do it in front of this crowd," said Brownlee, keeping a perfect record (6-of-6) in PBA finals, nailing a first one a few days after becoming a legitimate Filipino.
Brownlee came through with 34 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds in this Last Tango while drawing solid support from almost everybody including Jamie Malonzo, Christian Standhardinger, LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Scottie Thompson.
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Standhardinger was a solid frontcourt power for the Kings against the Bay Area giants throughout the series, and he was adjudged as the Honda Finals MVP winner.
Malonzo, meanwhile, gained the MVP honors in the deciding Game 7 with a stellar double-double game with 22 markers and 17 boards.
"When I was traded, I dreamed of this," said Malonzo of the great moment they basked into following earlier triumphs in Game 1 (96-81), Game 3 (89-82) and Game 5 (101-91).
The Kings set the tone for the clincher early with their hot runs in the first half, capped by jarring two-handed jam by Aguilar at the buzzer, giving Ginebra a huge 61-39 lead at the turn.
And with their unrelenting drive, the Kings stretched their lead to as big as 28 and kept a safe margin all the way to the finish.
With back-to-back triples by Tenorio quelling the last of the Dragons threat, the venue rocked to thunderous chants of Ginebra!, Ginebra! Ginebra! entering the last two-minute mark.
The Kings captured their 15th crown, breaking free from a deadlock with Magnolia and Alaska as the league's second winningest team behind San Miguel Beer. (SB)
