The chase for the Perpetual Trophy is still on!
Because of a fiery third quarter rally, the San Miguel Beermen were able to kick TNT Katropa out of the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup title race with a resounding 96-83 victory in Game Seven of their semifinal series, Monday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
“I knew from the start that this will be a tough series for us. From the start of the series, sila ang kinakatakutan namin because of their talent,” admitted Leo Austria, who has yet to lose a Game Seven.
With Monday night’s victory, the Beermen will now troop to the All-Filipino Finals for the third straight time — their 38th Finals appearance overall in the league — and will have the chance to be the second team to bag home the coveted Perpetual trophy.
June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos provided hugely for SMB, as both men notched double-doubles. Fajardo had 22 points and 19 rebounds, while Santos also scored 22 and grabbed down 13 boards. Both combined for an efficient 13-of-21 shooting.
Chris Ross also filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, six rebounds, and 10 assists, while the tandem of Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter each supplied 14 and 12 markers, respectively, to round up the stellar performance of the team’s starters.
“We were criticized because we play our starters a lot. Today they played 38 minutes kaya tomorrow they will have a day off,” said Austria regarding his players’ contribution.
SMB pivoted in the game’s third canto, turning a slim 41-39 lead to a wide 20 points, 77-57, after a Gabby Espinas jumper with 47.3 ticks to go. In that period alone, SMB shot an excellent 79 percent from the floor, hitting 15 of their 19 tries. They also outscored TNT in the period, 36-11.
“I don’t know what happened during the third quarter but we arrested our third quarter curse kumbaha. May sense of urgency ang mga players namin. 11 games namin is bagsak namin sa third quarter,” said Austria of their third frame outburst.
The Katropa tried to stage one last comeback in the final period. With RR Pogoy providing spark on offense with his scoring and playmaking skills, TNT were able to trim the double-digit lead to just nine, 92-83, after a Troy Rosario triple with 1:14 left.
However, 74 seconds were not enough for TNT to put up a hijack attempt. And with the frontcourt duo of Santos and Fajardo perfectly sinking both of their charities, SMB then widened the gap once more, 96-83, enough to keep the Katropa at bay and the assured victory.
“I would like to commend ang entire team namin. They really worked hard because they wanted to live up to the expectations of the people. Tonight, ipinakita nila yung hard work namin,” Austria shared.
The Katropa were paced by Larry Fonacier with 14 markers on 6-of-15 shooting. Pogoy backed him up with 13 points by shooting 50 percent from the floor, while Kelly Williams posted a double-double of 11 points and 14 rebounds.
TNT played a man down in the series’ final game as top guard Jayson Castro sat out due to an ankle injury. His absence was truly a big factor in the match, as he averaged 16.3 points and 8.0 assists in their first six games.
As a team, SMB shot at a 48 percent, converting 35 of their 73 attempts, with most of their shots coming from 26 assists they had. They also outrebounded TNT, 52-47, and had more points off turnovers, 25-17.
SMB will now wait for the winner of the Ginebra-Star series as their Finals opponents. Game One of the Finals is scheduled to take place on Friday, February 24 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Scores:
San Miguel (96) – Fajardo 22, Santos 22, Ross 18, Cabagnot 14, Lassiter 12, Espinas 8, Heruela 0, Garcia 0, Tubid 0, De Ocampo 0.
TNT (83) – Fonacier 14, Pogoy 13, Williams 11, Ganuelas-Rosser 9, De Ocampo 9, Reyes 7, Rosales 6, Tautuaa 5, Rosario 5, Seigle 4, Tamsi 0.
Quarterscores: 22-19, 41-39, 77-60, 96-83.
