BMEG survive David and Powerade, clinches semis berth

MANILA, Philippines—B-Meg survived another Gary David show and withstood Powerade, 110-98, in overtime Saturday night in the out-of-town game of 2012 PBA Governor’s Cup in Legaspi City.

A 8-2 run in overtime gave the Llamados a safe cushion before Marcus Blakely sustained his domination and sealed their sixth victory with three losses.

Blakely finished with 31 big points while James Yap bounced back from a lousy game and proved the spark in the first few minutes of overtime for 24 points.

The Llamados joined four other teams who are already in the next round, which will be another single-round robin with the team’s records in the eliminations going to be carried over.

“Tough one. Great character response by the guys in OT,” said BMeg head coach Tim Cone on Twitter (@manilacone).

BMEG was even leading by double digits midway the fourth quarter, but slowly squandered the lead, though was up by a precarious 89-85 with 15.3 seconds left.

Then David happened for the Tigers.

David knocked down a booming triple with a little over a second left to send the game into overtime, 90-all, after Jayvee Casio made 2-of-3 from the stripe.

David again hit the 30-point mark as he finished with a game-best 34 points with Casio also providing offense with 23 markers.

The Tigers, now at 4-5, remain in the running for the semifinals but are now at the mercy of Barako Bull to get a shot at advancing.

A Barako Bull win versus Meralco Sunday will forge a three-way tie which would lead to a knockout playoff game, while a win by latter would eliminate the Energy and the Tigers.