MANILA, Philippines — Defending champion Purefoods blew a 17-point lead before salvaging a 113-105 win over San Miguel Beer in overtime to stop a three-game slide Sunday night in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Two-time MVP James Yap returned from a right knee injury and was the hero for the Hotshots, scoring eight of his 15 points in OT including a 3-pointer that extended his team’s lead to four, 109-105, with 1:40 left.
“For us, both our conferences are on the brink so it was a desperation game. Even though we were up 15, 17 points they (San Miguel) were playing desperate. At the blink of an eye they were back in the game and they forced it into overtime,” said Purefoods head coach Tim Cone.
“Luckily before overtime, our guys were focused and James had his big moments,” added Cone.
Yap missed two games but made up for lost time with another clutch performance. He tied the game at 103 with his second triple before forcing another deadlock at 105 with a nifty drive against Beermen center June Mar Fajardo with 2:47 remaining.
Import Denzel Bowles drew Fajardo’s final foul and made a free throw to put Purefoods ahead, 106-105, with 2:22 remaining before Yap’s third triple.
Yap was also responsible for Marc Pingris’ baseline basket that put the game away, 111-105, with 39.4 seconds to go.
Bowles finished with 35 points, 17 rebounds and six assists but got “tired,” according to Cone as Yap stepped up.
Swingman Marcio Lassiter had 21 points, 13 coming in the fourth quarter, that led San Miguel’s charge from 17 points down with 10 minutes left in regulation. Lassiter, though, was held scoreless in the extra session.
Fajardo recorded 14 points and 17 rebounds before fouling out. He already had five fouls with still 1:56 left in the third quarter.
Eight unanswered points by Lassiter tied the game at 95 with 2:05 left while Arizona Reid’s basket off his own miss knotted the count at 98, with 50.9 ticks left.
Yap’s potential game-winning triple from the right corner went in-and-out, paving way for the extra five minutes of action.
A 3-pointer by Chris Lutz from the right wing gave the Beermen their first taste of the lead, 103-100, since trailing, 83-66.
Purefoods improved to 5-3 while San Miguel remained at the bottom of the standings with a 1-6 record.