Beermen bounce back and how

The turnaround was expected but not the mismatch San Miguel Beer pulled off to tie its title series with TNT KaTropa for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday.

Beaten by two points in the opener of the best-of-seven Finals, the Beermen not only got back at the Texters with aplomb but practically decided the contest with still 12 minutes left by roaring to a 90-62 lead after three quarters.

The final score was 102-88 after both teams decided to rest their key players in the final period in anticipation of more rugged action ahead of what is now a best-of-five affair.

Their reserves finished off what started like a one-sided Game 2 after the Texters got going with a 17-0 blast, a PBA record for an opening salvo by a team in the Finals.

SMB coach Leo Austria, bidding for a second straight title after nailing a third straight Philippine Cup championship last March, said he thought it was going to be a 0-2 hole for the Beermen at first. Then, he added, they came back with murderous fire in the second and third quarters.

After moving within eight at 24-32 after the first quarter, the Beermen outscored the Texters, 28-11, in the second period to wrest the upperhand at halftime, 52-43. The lead went up to 20 at 69-49 after Gilas Pilipinas rookie RR Pogoy, who keyed TNT’s 104-102 win in Game 1 with a team-high 27 points, was thrown out for a flagrant foul on TNT forward Arwind Santos at the 8:39 mark of the third quarter.

Pogoy left the game scoreless. The other Texters who were unstoppable in Game 1 also sputtered at the height of the rout. SMB threw a double team that limited injured import Joshua Smith to just 11 points after he fired 21 in the opener, including the game-winner on a jump hook off June Mar Fajardo with 1.6 seconds left.

Fajardo was again a force down low with 22 points and 11 rebounds, Chris Ross also outplayed TNT sparkplug and Gilas Pilipinas ace guard Jayson Castro and Alex Cabagnot and Santos responded well enough to compensate for a so-so performance by SMB reinforcement Charles Rhodes.

Rhodes finished with a PBA low seven points after pouring in 31 in the first game, 21 of them coming in just the first quarter.

Despite the crushing defeat, coach Nash Racela has promised a tougher stand in the future from a more focused TNT squad that will continue to field Smith despite the torn ligaments on his right foot. Pogoy will also remain available for the rest of the series although he was fined P30,000 for his foul on Santos.

Game 3 was being played at presstime last night.