An endgame boo-boo proved to be the difference as San Miguel hacked out a 135-133 comeback victory over NLEX in a solid primer entering the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Robert Bolick was called for a basket interference after pulling down the net on George King’s layup off a drive with 5.2 seconds left to play, allowing the Beermen to overtake the Road Warriors from a tied affair at 133-all.
L-Jay Gonzales’ missed triple in the final possession, immediately hauled down by Chris Ross, ultimately enabled the traditional powerhouse to complete the fightback after being down by as many as 20 points during the third quarter.
Despite the spirited triumph, SMB still settled for a No. 2 finish in Group A after failing to meet the needed winning margin to clinch the top seed in the pool — it lost to NLEX by 14 points, 110-96, back in the first round last July 26.
(C) PBA Images
“Going into the game, we didn’t care kung number one o number two kami,” said head coach Leo Austria. “Iniisip namin, let us play to win. That was the first thing na sinabi ko sa kanila. We’re here to play to win, and that’s what happened.”
King top-scored for San Miguel with 27 points alongside nine rebounds. June Mar Fajardo scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, plus five assists, helping lead the rally to ensure his career milestone wouldn’t end in a loss.
The league’s only 9-time MVP formalized his entry to the 10,000 career points club, becoming the 19th member overall of a very exclusive list.
Don Trollano supplied 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead the bench mob as he was also crucial in their late-game assault to erase a 118-131 deficit.
Marcio Lassiter made 19 points while CJ Perez added 14 for the Beermen, who will face the No. 3 team in Group B in the playoffs’ opening round, which could be Magnolia, Rain or Shine, Phoenix, or perhaps Ginebra.
(C) PBA Images
“Kaya sabi ko sa team, let’s play to win. Whatever happens, it’s not our problem anymore who we’ll be facing from the other group,” Austria said.
Put to naught by the collapse was the 43-point, six-rebound effort of import Deonte Burton for NLEX, which will be taking on the fourth seed of Group B in the best-of-5 quarterfinals that commences this Sunday, October 25.
Gonzales and Deschon Winston had 20 points each. Tony Semerad made 14 while Bolick finished with 13 points and 15 assists in the defeat.
The Scores:
San Miguel 135 – King 27, Fajardo 26, Trollano 23, Lassiter 19, Perez 14, Ross 8, Ahanmisi 8, Cruz 4, Tautuaa 4, Brondial 0
NLEX 133 – Burton 43, Winston 20, Gonzales 20, Semerad 14, Bolick 13, Herndon 9, Valdez 6, Alas 6, Marcelo 2, Bahio 0, Gamboa 0, Nieto 0
Quarterscores: 30-32, 60-68, 96-112, 135-133.
