Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
He’s not called Mr. Clutch for nothing.
With San Miguel breathing down Rain or Shine’s neck, 96-94, with 5.2 seconds left in the game, Alex Cabagnot tried his best to get the attention of designated inbounder RR Garcia.
“I was just praying to get that opportunity to take a shot,” he said.
Curling to the top of the arc, Cabagnot got the pass but was met with the suffocating defense of Jeff Chan. Though pressed for time, he was not short in poise as the veteran guard drove to the left and pulled up for the shot that left the San Miguel faithful out of breath for a couple of seconds.
“I knew I was gonna shoot it. Coach had something drawn up but in the mix of the intensity and the certain things of the game, you know I just have to take those shots. I mean that’s why I’m on the floor. So I think that’ll be an hindrance if I don’t do that for the team,” he said. “The team trusted me to do that and I just have to take full responsibility for it.”
And just like what he has done several times before, Cabagnot weaved his late game magic and drilled the tough jumper with 1.8 seconds to spare to tie the game at 96.
Beau Belga missed his game-winner on the other end as the game went to overtime.
Cabagnot’s shot proved to be the jolt San Miguel needed especially in OT, where it opened with a 6-0 run en route to the 107-101 victory over Rain or Shine on Friday.
This kept the Beermen’s winning streak alive at seven straight and assured the squad one of the top two spots in the quarterfinals.
“That’s a great thing for our camp and that’s just one of the short term goals that we put on the drawing board, so I’m glad that we got to cross that out of the picture,” said Cabagnot, who finished the game with 14 points, three rebounds, and three assists.
Though San Miguel is already assured of the twice-to-beat incentive, the 34-year-old playmaker still warns his side of complacency with games against GlobalPort and TNT coming up.
“We’re just going to try not to create bad habits in the last two games and we’ll just continue to play fundamentally,” he said.