Fajardo wins duel vs Slaughter, lifts SMB over Ginebra
June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel (dark) vs Greg Slaughter of Ginebra (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer withstood a late Barangay Ginebra run to win, 79-77, and grab solo second place in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo collected 21 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks for the Beermen, who blew a 15-point lead in the fourth quarter before making five of their last six free throws in the final 15 seconds to survive the Kings.
“We’re really preparing for this game. This is a good step for us because the goal is to get into the top two,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “The players answered to the challenge. Against Ginebra alone is a motivation for them.”
“June Mar is very important for us. He’s been anticipating this game. We went to June Mar and we’re lucky because he’s really a go-to player,” Austria said.
The Beermen led, 66-51, after a Ronald Tubid 3-pointer with 9:20 left before the Kings went on a 21-6 run to tie the game at 72 on a hook shot by Greg Slaughter over Fajardo with 40.7 seconds remaining.
Fajardo, who turns 25 on Monday, answered back with an undergoal stab against Slaughter to give the lead back to San Miguel Beer, 74-72, with 24.1 ticks to go.
Japeth Aguilar muffed a dunk off a lob pass by Slaughter in the ensuing play before Arwind Santos calmly made four free throws that sandwiched a basket by Slaughter for a 78-74 cushion with 7.9 seconds left.
Santos topscored with 22 points that went with nine rebounds. He also disrupted Ginebra’s final possession with the Kings settling for a Joseph Yeo heave that was way off as time ran out.
“Slowly, everybody’s learning my system,” said Austria, who also marveled at the matchup between the league’s giants in the 6-foot-10 Fajardo and the 7-foot Slaughter.
Slaughter finished with 16 points, 18 rebounds and two blocks for Ginebra, which only had 13 assists after coming into the game averaging 23.5 per game.
The Kings also turned the ball over 19 times after committing just 11 miscues in their last game.
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