Arwind Santos. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
After a disastrous first half, San Miguel woke up from its slumber and took a come-from-behind 101-95 win over Rain or Shine to draw first blood in their best-of-5 semifinals series in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Thursday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen overcame a sluggish first half, where they found themselves down by as much as 24, 43-19, early in the second quarter. They eventually caught up with the Elasto Painters, getting the first lead of the game at 80-79 at the end of third behind a 20-5 run steered by the duo Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos.
READ: X-factor in San Miguel, Rain or Shine series
With a nip-and-tuck payoff period, Arizona Reid made his presence felt as he scored the last four points of San Miguel to lead his team to the victory.
“This is unbelievable for us. We were able to catchup and eventually won the game,” said coach Leo Austria.
Reid finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, and eight dimes to lead the Beermen, while Marcio Lassiter also had 22 markers on a 4-of-8 shooting from threes, and seven boards.
June Mar Fajardo still tallied a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds despite playing through foul trouble.
But the revelation was Cabagnot, who poured in 11 of his 15 points in the second half, alongside his eight assists and five rebounds.
“Finally, we saw (Cabagnot)’s true worth. But it’s a team effort on our defense which is why we were able to recover,” said Austria.
Santos also contributed all of his 13 markers in the final two quarters to go with 12 rebounds.
Wendell McKines anchored the E-Painters with 33 points and 16 rebounds, while Paul Lee scattered 19 markers and seven boards.
Beau Belga, playing the majority of the second half hobbled by a sprained right ankle he got in the first half, got 12 points and six rebounds in the defeat.
Game 2 is on Saturday, 5 p.m. at the same venue. CFC
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 101 – Lassiter 22, Reid 22, Fajardo 20, Cabagnot 15, Santos 13, Tubid 5, Lutz 2, Espinas 2, Ross 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 95 – McKines 33, Lee 19, Belga 12, Almazan 10, Ibanes 7, Chan 7, Uyloan 5, Tiu 2, Norwood 0, Jc. Cruz 0, Arana 0, Quinahan 0.
Quarters: 19-34, 46-60, 80-79, 101-95.
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