No lead is safe in basketball, as they say. The San Miguel Beermen know that all too well.
In their 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinal clash versus NorthPort on Sunday, the Beermen had already built a 17-point lead in the third quarter, only for the Batang Pier to cut it down to just a single point midway into the fourth.
“We built two big leads, but NorthPort’s a really good team,” said Chris Ross.
SMB also had a 35-20 lead in the second but it melted as well, as they headed into the break with just a five-point advantage.
“They crawled back both times.”
But as a team with much more experience than the Batang Pier, the Beermen handled the situation well.
The decorated trio of Ross, Arwind Santos, and June Mar Fajardo – plus their explosive import Chris McCullough – all joined hands and made an overwhelming 16-0 run to turn their slim lead to a wide 98-81 edge with 1:16 left to play.
San Miguel went on to win, 98-84, blowing NorthPort’s twice-to-beat advantage in the process.
“That’s what we’re here for. We were kinda limping into the playoffs, but now that it’s here, we have to be at our A-Game,” said Ross, who had 18 points and nine assists. “We can’t afford any slip-ups in these couple of games.
“That’s what I told the guys before the game. I said, ‘Give your best effort. Give your best energy of the season in this game and just force a decider.’ Now we forced a decider – we just gotta finish the job,” added the 34-year-old.
With the win, momentum has now shifted to San Miguel heading into the sudden death this Wednesday, July 23, still at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. But the outspoken Ross believes otherwise.
“No,” the 10-year league veteran said. “That’s what NorthPort worked all conference for – to get a twice-to-beat. And they get another chance to beat us on Wednesday. All they need is one win; all we need is one win.
“So it’s a do-or-die game, and I expect them to be at their best on Wednesday and I expect us to be at our best, too. It’s definitely gonna be another battle. It’s gonna go down to the end, and we’re definitely looking forward to it.”
