Dragons, Kings lead stats derby

Finals protagonists Bay Area and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel made their presence felt as they dominated various statistical departments in the ongoing Commissioner’s Cup of the Philippine Basketball Association.

Aside from leading the midseason conference in average points with 110.4 per game, the Dragons are also being spearheaded by import Andrew Nicholson, who tops scoring department after averaging 36.22 points in nine games.

But the Kings are leading the league in assists, thanks to two-time Best Import awardee Justin Brownlee.

Despite also being known as an offensive threat, Brownlee posted an average of 6.76 dimes per contest to help Ginebra emerge on top of the assist department with 26 per outing.

The Kings are also second on defense as they limited their opponents to below 94 points per game.

On the other hand, the Dragons have been spewing fire offensively with the 6-foot-10 Andrew Nicholson at the helm.

In fact, other than his scoring prowess, the former National Basketball Association stalwart also proved that he is rock-solid at the field and the free throw line after emerging second in field goal percentage with 63.41 percent and third in free throw percentage with 82.81 percent behind Robert Bolick of NorthPort with 83.87 percent and Brownlee with 83.62 percent.

Two other Ginebra locals shone bright on the hustle charts. Jamie Malonzo, acquired by the Gin Kings prior to the start of the season, and reigning Most Valuable Player Scottie Thompson, cracked the top eight in the steals department.

Malonzo is currently No. 7 with 1.78 steals per game and not far behind is his teammate, Thompson, with 1.61 per contest.

The do-it-all Thompson is also sixth in assists, averaging 5.67 per outing.