As expected, the battle of the league’s top two teams turned out to be a battle of wills.
“This game saw two well-prepared teams but my players refused to lose,” an exasperated San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said about the game.
In the end, it was reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo who proved to be the difference in overtime, powering the San Miguel Beermen to a 107-101 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Friday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After being limited to just four points in the first half, the reigning three-time MVP was able to put up 21 points in the last 29 minutes of the game. He also grabbed 17 rebounds in the game.
“June Mar was not able to contribute offensively but he was able to make it up in the second hand,” Austria said about Fajardo.
In overtime, Fajardo scored three of the first six points for San Miguel to give the Beermen a 102-96 lead.
The Elasto Painters were able to break their cold spell that extended from 2:38 remaining in the final quarter after a conversion by Jewel Ponferada. A miss by Marcio Lassiter from distance led to a triple for Jeff Chan to cut the lead to a solitary point with 1:32 to go.
However, the Cebuano giant was not to be denied. A turnover by Ponferrada due to a timely swipe by Chris Ross led to a basket for Fajardo. Rain or Shine’s shooting also went sour as a miss from distance by Gabe Norwood and a swat by Lassiter on a Jewel Ponferrada attempt sealed the deal for the reigning champions.
According to Austria, luck also played a huge factor in San Miguel’s win.
“Medyo suwerte kami and, unfortunately for them, Alex had other things in mind,” he added.
After back-to-back triples by Chris Tiu and Beau Belga with 2:38 left that gave Rain or Shine a 96-90 edge, the Beermen were able to lock down on defense, slowly disecting Rain or Shine’s lead.
“Arwind is not scoring but he was able to play defense for us. Also Chris Ross,” Austria said about Santos, who had 17 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists, and Chris Ross, who had four steals in the game.
An excellent find by Santos to Fajardo with 43.1 ticks reamining turned the game into a one-possession affair. After a bevy of errors by both teams, Ross was able to swipe the ball away from Belga and Cabagnot was immediately able to call for time — a lapse they forgot a possession prior.
With 5.2 seconds remaining, Cabagnot was able to knock down an off balance jumper to tie the game at 96-all — his only field goal in the second half after scoring 12 in the first half. A miss by Belga sent the game into overtime.
RR Garcia added 17 markers for the Beermen.
The Beermen shot 46 percent from the field, including 16-of-37 from downtown. In comparison, Rain or Shine’s clip was just 39 percent. In addition, the Beermen were able to out-rebound Rain or Shine 57-50 that led to a 20-16 difference in second chance points.
For Rain or Shine, Beau Belga led the way with 14 points that included two triples. Chris Tiu, who was playing in his fourth game of the conference, added 13 points, 10 coming in the third frame that help Rain or Shine gain a 75-71 lead entering the final quarter.
The San Miguel Beermen (8-1) will have an eight-day break before taking on the Globalport Batang Pier on Saturday, January 21 in Lapu Lapu City. The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (5-3) will have the Meralco Bolts next on their slate on Friday, January 20 at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Scores:
San Miguel 107 – Fajardo 25, Santos 17, Garcia 17, Lassiter 14, Cabagnot 14, De Ocampo 12, Ross 4, Espinas 4, Tubid 0.
Rain or Shine 101 – Belga 14, Tiu 13, Chan 11, Ponferada 9, Cruz 9, Ahanmisi 9, Maiquez 8, Washington 8, Norwood 6, Tolomia 4, Trollano 4, Yap 3, Matias 3.
Quarterscores: 32-28, 56-49, 71-75, 96-96, 107-101
