Manila, Philippines–Gabriel Freeman scored 22 points and grabbed 24 rebounds as San Miguel Beer scored an 83-75 decision of Derby Ace Wednesday night to move within another win of returning to the PBA Fiesta Conference title series.
San Miguel’s defense also unmasked Tony Washam, holding the Derby Ace import to just 12 points in the critical Game 4 win at the Cuneta Astrodome for what is now a commanding 3-1 lead for the Beermen.
Faced with a potential series-clinching Game 5 at the Araneta Coliseum tomorrow, Beermen coach Siot Tanquingcen still refuses to talk like his series is over.
“I think anything is possible in basketball,” said the former UST playmaker. “As a team, they (Llamados) are very capable of coming back and we just can’t take them for granted.”
In the first game, Talk ‘N Text broke away in the middle two quarters last night and whipped a cold Alaska Milk, 83-62, to tie their semifinal series after four games.
San Miguel assumed command in the third quarter and then took a 14-point lead halfway through the fourth with Freeman, staying out of foul trouble this time, leading the way.
The Llamados, the reigning Philippine Cup champions, made one final push to come within four, 75-71, as a Roger Yap triple capped a 10-0 run with 2:47 to play.
But Dondon Hontiveros got that trey back as quickly and Olsen Racela canned an insurance free throw with 35.9 seconds left to make it 79-73.
Washam hit just a triple in three tries and shot 1-of-16 from the two-point region as he was bottled up no end by Arwind Santos.
In contrast, Freeman did a lot of damage for the Beermen with timely incursions to the lane and superb work off the boards.
Shawn Daniels scored 13 points and had 14 rebounds for the Texters on a day his potential replacement planed in from the United States, giving coach Chot Reyes what he said was a “good problem,” as he has to make a decision before Game 5.
“I told him (Daniels) that we’ll be bringing in somebody because of his deteriorating performance,” Reyes told
reporters. “But today he (Daniels) was our guy and he played like his life depended on it.
“With this team, I am now faced with a good problem,” Reyes continued. “To be honest, we don’t know what to do. Things are fluid at this point and we’re not sure (if Daniels will be replaced or not).”
Omar Shariff Sneed, a veteran of the Israeli professional league, watched the game in the company of team owner Manny V. Pangilinan at ringside after jetting in Wednesday morning. He will practice with the Texters for the first time Thursday.
Talk ‘N Text actually did not play a very special game, it was just that Alaska had a very sub-par one, hence, the most lopsided result in the series. The Texters were also without Ryan Reyes, who is nursing a knee injury.
Diamon Simpson, after scoring 31 points in a 90-86 Game 3 win, was held to just 12 points last night and the Aces’ top three local guns–LA Tenorio, Cyrus Baguio and Joe Devance–combined for just 19 points on 1-of-9 from three-point range and 7-of-18 from two-point zone.
Alaska coach Tim Cone threw in the towel with still over nine minutes left by recalling Simpson to the bench after Castro scored four straight points inside the final minute of the third that gave the Texters a couple of 24-point leads.
The scores:
First Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 83—Castro 13, Daniels 13, Cardona 11, Alapag 10, Yee 8, De Ocampo 8, Carey 8, Dillinger 5, Williams 5, Quinahan 2.
ALASKA 62—Simpson 12, Eman 11, Baguio 7, Dela Cruz 7, De Vance 6, Tenorio 6, Borboran 5, Thoss 5, Hugnatan 2, Fonacier 1, Robinson 0, Cariaso 0.
Quarters: 20-18, 46-33, 69-45, 83-62
Second Game
SAN MIGUEL BEER 83—Freeman 22, Santos 12, Hontiveros 12, Washington 11, Yeo 7, Cabagnot 7, Ildefonso 7, Racela 3, Villanueva 2, Pena 0.
DERBY ACE 75—Yap J. 18, Yap R. 15, Washam 12, Pingris 8, Maierhofer 6, Simon 6, Reavis 4, Canaleta 3, Artadi 2, Allado 1.
Quarters: 18-17, 36-34, 58-54, 83-75