Beermen survive Hotshots, face Painters in semis

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Tyler Wilkerson and Chris Ross came through as San Miguel Beer eked out a 103-99 squeaker over Star to advance to the 2016 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The sweet-shooting import bucked his Game 1 woes as he lit up with 46 points that went with 17 rebounds, while last conference’s Finals MVP took charge late and registered 13 markers, five assists, four boards, and three steals for the Beermen.

“I think it’s very obvious that the players refused to lose,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “Because of the experience we had in the last four conferences, they know the glory of winning and the importance of this game for us. We have a chance for a three-peat, but I’m happy today because the players, especially Tyler and Chris Ross, they went out to work really hard.”

Star controlled the majority of the game, jumping to an 11-point lead, 87-78, after three periods.

“They scared us,” admitted Austria.

The Beermen mounted a huge fightback in the fourth quarter as Arwind Santos knotted the score at 97 with 3:40 to play.

With the game tied at 99 in the final two minutes, Ross pushed his team up, 103-99 and drew Mark Barroca’s sixth foul with 32.3 ticks left in the clock.

The Hotshots still had a chance to inch closer, but Peter June Simon and Rafi Reavis muffed their attempts in the game’s waning seconds.

Marcio Lassiter also added 17 points on 3-of-5 shooting from threes, while Santos got 10 markers and seven rebounds.

San Miguel will once again battle Rain or Shine in the semifinals for the third straight conference. Game 1 is on Sunday at 5 p.m.

The victory also foiled a five-season curse for the Beermen, where they either failed to advance to the playoffs or were booted out quickly in the quarterfinals.

“We’re banking on the experience of the team and with this win, I think gutom pa rin sila,” said Austria.

Ricardo Ratliffe led Star with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Simon had 21 markers in the failed upset bid for the eight-seed Hotshots.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL 103 – Wilkerson 46, Lassiter 17, Ross 13, Santos 10, Fajardo 9, Espinas 8, Cabagnot 0, Tubid 0.

STAR 99 – Ratliffe 24, Simon 21, Pingris 18, Mallari 10, Maliksi 9, Barroca 8, Melton 5, Sangalang 4, Reavis 0.

Quarters: 21-29, 52-54, 78-87, 103-99.