Beermen stretch finals, shock Aces in OT
Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Defending champion San Miguel Beer rose from a double-digit deficit late in the fourth quarter to stun Alaska, 110-104, in overtime and extend their 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup Finals series on Sunday night at Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Marcio Lassiter scored a conference-high 26 points on 5-of-11 shooting from threes, Gabby Espinas posted 21 points and 14 rebounds in 33 minutes off the bench and Chris Ross nearly had a triple-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Beermen.
The Beermen, buoyed by the presence of their injured star center June Mar Fajardo, rallied from 11 points down in the final 3:30 of regulation and outscored the Aces, 28-11, in the final eight minutes, including OT.
“This is what we are waiting for, to get a lot of breaks in the endgame,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “In the last three games, we didn’t have good breaks. Alaska had a lot of turnovers and they panicked because they were excited to bring the ball down.”
“They accepted the challenge. They didn’t want to get swept by Alaska and they gave us some space to breathe,” added Austria.
Alex Cabagnot added 16 points, including a triple that put the Beermen ahead for good, 105-102, with 1:52 left in OT, and eight rebounds.
Alaska swingman Cyrus Baguio forced extra time with a clutch 3-pointer from the left wing with no time left in regulation.
Arwind Santos still struggled from the field – missing 10 of his 15 attempts – but he was able to contribute 11 markers, 12 boards, three steals and two blocks. He also tipped in his own miss that gave San Miguel a 94-93 edge with 28.0 seconds left.
Down, 93-82, after a left corner triple by JVee Casio, Lassiter and Espinas willed San Miguel back in the game.
The Beermen even took a 96-93 spread on two free throws by Ronald Tubid with 19.8 ticks left. Calvin Abueva made a quick layup off a timeout before Ross, who secured an offensive rebound off a couple of misses by Santos at the line, sank two freebies that gave SMB a 98-95 buffer with 4.5 seconds to go in regulation.
Vic Manuel led the Aces in scoring for the fourth consecutive game with 20 points on top of 13 rebounds while Baguio collected 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Game 5 is on Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
History is not on the Beermen’s side with no team in the league has ever come back from a 3-0 hole in a best-of-seven series and win. But despite aiming for what seemed to be improbable in overcoming such deficit, San Miguel will definitely try and give whatever it has left, just like the way the team has been playing in the series so far.
“You can never know what will happen. Miracles are just around the corner,” said Austria.
Fajardo has yet to play in the championship series due to a left knee injury. The reigning back-to-back MVP showed up in the finals for the first time to receive his fourth Best Player of the Conference award before tipoff and show his full support to his team.
Calvin Abueva recorded 14 points and seven rebounds but had to watch from the sidelines after fouling out with 5.4 ticks remaining in regulation.
Casio had 13 points for Alaska but was held responsible for two of his team’s three costly turnovers in OT.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 110 – Lassiter 26, Espinas 21, Cabagnot 16, Ross 11, Santos 11, Tubid 8, De Ocampo 6, Lutz 4, Reyes 4, Heruela 3, Arana 0, Omolon 0, Semerad 0.
ALASKA 104 – Manuel 20, Abueva 14, Hontiveros 14, Casio 13, Banchero 12, Baguio 11, Thoss 9, Exciminiano 5, Jazul 4, Baclao 2, Dela Rosa 0, Menk 0.
Quarters: 20-28, 43-49, 69-77, 98-98, 110-104.
