ARIZONA Reid of San Miguel Beer draws a foul from Mahindra import James White (partly hidden). AUGUST DELA CRUZ
SHOWING it can slug it out with the best, Mahindra last night extended its franchise-best conference start by chopping down defending champion San Miguel Beer to size, 105-103, for the solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
James White scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds before the Enforcers got critical points from two unheralded men in the stretch to rise to 3-0 and deal the Beermen their first defeat in three games.
Paolo Taha and Chito Jaime scored the last four Mahindra points inside the final 1:18 and the Enforcers sealed the win when Arizona Reid, after San Miguel had forced a turnover with 15 or so seconds left, refused to heed coach Leo Austria’s call for a timeout and launched a triple attempt that was a tad short.
“Our guys showed their fortitude,” Mahindra coach Chris Gavina said. “We are approaching every game with the mind-set that everything is a playoff game. It was a great effort from our guys.”
Barangay Ginebra rebounded from its first loss with aplomb, scoring an 85-72 ripping of NLEX in the nightcap behind the 24 points and 15 rebounds of import Justin Brownlee.
The Gin Kings rose to 2-1, while the Road Warriors lost for the second straight game in a 1-2 card after import Henry Walker was held down to just 18 points.
Mahindra opened up leads of as many as 12 and seemed to be cruising along midway through the fourth when the Beermen worked doggedly hard to make a game out of it again.
Reid gave the Beermen the lead for the first time in a long while with a short jumper with 3:51 left for 98-97 only for the Enforcers to hang on tenaciously and engage San Miguel in a nip-and-tuck game from there.
“Their sheer determination and level of consistency of discipline and focus really came through tonight,” said Gavina of his Enforcers, who are, interestingly enough, the only team in the field with a winning record against San Miguel in import-spiced conferences for the last two seasons, 4-2.
The scores:
First Game
MAHINDRA 105—White 34, Canaleta 17, Taha 12, Agovida 10, Ramos 9, Revilla 8, Pinto 6, Yee 3, Guinto 2, Jaime 2, Zandi 2, Ballesteros 0, Digregorio 0, Aguilar 0.
SAN MIGUEL 103—Reid 43, Cabagnot 15, Fajardo 13, Arana 11, Lassiter 10, Reyes 4, Tubid 3, Mabulac 2, Ross 2, David 0, De Ocampo 0, Heruela 0.
Quarters: 28-27, 48-48, 81-74, 105-103
Second Game
BRGY. GINEBRA 85—Brownlee 24, Aguilar 14, Devance 10, Tenorio 10, Thompson 8, Caguioa 4, Ellis 4, Marcelo 4, Mariano 4, Mercado 3.
NLEX 72—Walker 18, Anthony 14, Villanueva J. 9, Lanete 8, Khobuntin 6, Baracael 5, Villanueva E. 5, Reyes 4, Akl 3, Alas 0, Forrester 0, Monfort 0.
Quarters: 16-14, 40-36, 55-54, 85-72