The San Miguel Beermen averted a second-half rally by the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to claim Game Two of the semis series, 95-92, in another closely-contested affair at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel paraded their second unit players, which saw very minimal action back in the series opener that helped their main guns jump to another first half distance. A 10-0 run second quarter run lifted the Beermen’s lead to its biggest at 16, but Ccach Leo Austria knew Ginebra had the capacity to comeback, just like they displayed in Game One.
“We know na magiging chess match ito,” the champion mentor said. “I reminded them nung halftime na we were up(Game One) then nakahabol sila.”
As if on cue, Ginebra built an 18-7 storm to open the new half, 12 of which came from LA Tenorio, who was scoreless in the last game. From that point on, the two teams went to grind it out in a dogfight for the remainder of the game.
In the middle of the final quarter, triples coming from Elijah Millsap, Ronald Tubid, and Alex Cabagnot restored a double-digit cushion at 91-80. The crowd-favorite crew, however, pushed for another major comeback that pulled themselves to within a single possession with two minutes remaining.
Tenorio drilled another triple with 21 seconds remaining to cut the lead down to 93-92. Fortunately for the Beermen, they ran a play and managed to distract Ginebra’s trap, which penultimately led to a baseline jam by Millsap. On the last possession, Justin Brownlee clanked the potential overtime-sending triple, as he was blanketed by the defense of Arwind Santos.
“I salute these guys, kasi yung composure nila is still there, and may urgent matter kasi we wanted to win,” said a relieved Austria.
“I hope this win gives us the momentum, but it’s gonna be hard kasi we keep on adjusting.”
Millsap led the scoring for SMB with 25 points. Fajardo added a splendid 18 points and 23 rebounds, 12 of which came from the offensive end. Despite sporting a busted eye due to the physicality he received back in the first half, the two-time league MVP was still a force against Ginebra’s defense.
“Kailangan namin mag-bounce back kasi talo kami nung Game One tapos pag natalo pa kami, mahirap makabangon,” the reigning MVP said. “May lapses pa kami nung crucial minutes, may errors pa ako kaya kialangan pag aralan pa namin talaga.”
Tenorio finished the night with 22 points in nearly 40 minutes of action, to go along with seven assists. Brownlee had 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Sol Mercado chipped in 11 points off the bench.
The Beermen crashed the boards better at 54 to 45 and finished the game with 48 points in the paint compared to Ginebra’s 38. Their 13 to 6 advantage in second chance points also spelled the difference in this close affair.
The pivotal Game Three of this series will be on Friday, 7:00pm at the same venue.
The Scores:
San Miguel (95) – Millsap 25, Fajardo 18, Cabagnot 13, Tubid 10, Lassiter 8, Ross 8, Santos 7, De Ocampo 6, Reyes 0, Semerad 0.
Ginebra (92) – Tenorio 22, Brownlee 18, Caguioa 11, Mercado 11, Mariano 10, Aguilar 9, Thompson 7, Cruz 4, Devance 0, Marcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 24-18, 51-40, 72-71, 95-92
