Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Baser Amer had a career night and Meralco held off TNT, 103-100, in overtime Wednesday night to forge a winner-take-all Game 3 for the last spot in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Amer fired 32 points on top of six rebounds and four assists in 43 minutes to lead the Bolts’ fightback after dropping Game 1 on Monday.
“We played much better tonight than we did last game. I thought we really gutted it out in the end especially since my import was in foul trouble majority of the game,” said Meralco head coach Norman Black.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the locals particularly Baser Amer, who I felt played one of the best games of his career. Special mention also goes out to Kelly Nabong, who hit his foul shots when the game was on the line,” Black added.
Game 3 is set on Friday with the winner facing top seed Barangay Ginebra in a best-of-five semifinals series.
The Bolts overcame a long offensive drought that lasted for close to eight minutes and the absence of their import Alex Stepheson, who fouled out with still 1:54 left in regulation.
But Stepheson’s ouster somehow turned out to be a blessing in disguise with Kelly Nabong, who replaced him in the game, stepping up in OT.
Nabong scored seven of Meralco’s last nine points in the final two minutes and 12 seconds to finish with 15 points
The veteran bruiser went 3-of-4 from the free throw line in the last 11.6 seconds to help keep the KaTropa at bay.
Joshua Smith had a chance to win it for TNT at the free throw line but he only managed to get a split with 5.6 seconds to go in regulation.
Chris Newsome forced a contested 3-pointer that missed, paving the way for OT with the score tied at 92.
RR Garcia gave the KaTropa their first lead,
93-92, at the 3:16 mark of overtime after trailing by as much as 19 points late in the opening quarter.
But that didn’t last long as Amer and Nabong hit back-to-back baskets for a 96-93 edge and TNT never led again.
Smith led the KaTropa with 18 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks while Stepheson finished with just seven points and 13 rebounds in only 26 minutes due to foul trouble.