June Mar Fajardo and EJ Anosike led the third-quarter assault as San Miguel got back at Ginebra, 131-121, to send their PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal battle back to square one, Wednesday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The eight-time MVP finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds, while the bruising import supplied 27 and 11 as they combined for 24 of the Beermen’s 37 points in the said period to build a 99-85 lead entering the game’s final 12 minutes.
Shortly after that, the squad would break the game wide open en route to tying the best-of-7 series at two games apiece, leaving head coach Jorge Gallent satisfied of how his wards responded from a 99-94 defeat the last time out.
“I just challenged them in yesterday’s practice that we just had to come out strong, bring a lot of effort, and bring a lot of energy so that we will have a great chance of winning in this game and they responded very well,” he said.
“Kudos to them. They played their hearts out and I hope they continue to play like this in the remaining games,” the veteran mentor added.
CJ Perez came through with 20 points, while Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano produced 15 points apiece as the latter finally got going offensively after collecting just a grand total of three points in the previous two matches.
Terrence Romeo supplied 14 markers as the former three-time scoring champ joined hands with Fajardo for an 8-0 run that gave San Miguel its biggest lead of the ball game at 20, 122-102, heading into the last five minutes.
Six of the eight players in the very short rotation leaned on by Gallent finished in double figures and that kind of scoring enabled the team to overcome the explosion of Justin Brownlee in reducing the series to a virtual best-of-3.
Brownlee finished with 49 points on 20-of-26 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 from four, nine rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block.
Yet his efforts weren’t enough to save the Barangay, who never led in the game as they eventually failed to build a commanding 3-1 series lead, instead falling to what’s been a trend where the two teams are alternating wins.
No other player from the Kings were able to score at least 20 as well, with Stephen Holt leading their locals with 17 points.
Scottie Thompson made 15 points, while rookie RJ Abarrientos added 11 as the guards tried to carry the load on offense on a night where primary big man Japeth Aguilar was held to just 12 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the floor.
Game 5 is on Friday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo. Tip-off is set at 5 p.m..
The Scores:
San Miguel 131 – Fajardo 29, Anosike 27, Perez 20, Lassiter 15, Trollano 15, Romeo 14, Cruz 8, Ross 3.
Ginebra 121 – Brownlee 49, Holt 17, Thompson 15, J.Aguilar 12, Abarrientos 11, Ahanmisi 5, Tenorio 5, Pinto 3, Adamos 2, Devance 2, Cu 0.
Quarterscores: 34-28, 62-56, 99-85, 131-121.
