San Miguel no longer allowed the game to be decided in the last possession as it pulled away in the second half to beat TNT, 109-100, to tie the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at a game apiece, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Vic Manuel provided the spark in the victory, submitting his best playoff outing in a Beermen uniform with 20 points that saw him lead the pivotal 12-0 spree abridging the third and fourth quarters that put his side ahead for good.
“Noong Game One, nag-struggle ako sa opensa ko. Na-motivate ako kasi talo pa kami by buzzer beater so masakit sa amin ‘yun,” said the ‘Muscle Man,’ referring to their close 86-84 loss in the series opener last Sunday. “Talagang pinagtrabahuhan ko ‘to ngayon.”
CJ Perez top-scored for SMB with 23 points on a 62-percent clip from the field. Marcio Lassiter had 19 points and six rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo tallied 13 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks in the bounce-back win.
Jericho Cruz and Mo Tautua’a had 12 and 11 markers, respectively as six Beermen scored in twin digits.
“I’m so happy for them, everybody contributed eh,” said head coach Leo Austria.
Roger Pogoy led TNT with 28 points in the loss, all of which he scored in the first three quarters as he got silenced in the final frame while the Beermen went on a tear with Manuel on the forefront.
Jayson Castro had 15 points for the Tropang Giga, who’s without Chot Reyes as he’s with Gilas Pilipinas for the FIBA World Cup 2023 Asian Qualifiers’ fourth window. The six-time Coach of the Year won’t be back until Game Four on Sunday.
The reigning champions only got seven points from Mikey Williams, who hurt his ankle barely three minutes into the game. He slipped, and his left leg was accidentally landed on by counterpart Simon Enciso, who lost balance while defending him.
Game Three is on Friday, 5:45 p.m., at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The Scores:
San Miguel 109 – Perez 23, Manuel 20, Lassiter 19, Fajardo 13, Cruz 12, Tautuaa 11, Brondial 7, Ross 4, Enciso 0, Zamar 0.
TNT 100 – Pogoy 28, Castro 15, Montalbo 14, Rosario 11, K.Williams 10, M. Williams 7, Erram 7, Reyes 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Khobuntin 2, Marcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 30-28, 51-51, 82-79, 109-100
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
