By Joel Orellana
SAN MIGUEL Beer snapped Barako Bull’s four-game winning streak with a hard-earned 116-113 victory to extend its own winning run to four games on Wednesday in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ronald Tubid provided the spark, Gabby Espinas the defensive tenacity against the Energy’s towering import Liam McMorrow, and Arizona Reid made the big plays down the stretch to lift the Beermen to their fourth win after starting the tournament with back-to-back losses.
Tubid unloaded 12 of his 13 points in the final quarter he spiked with three triples, while the 6-foot-4 Espinas limited the production of 7-foot McMorrow in the payoff period as San Miguel put an end to Barako Bull’s unbeaten start.
“Right from the start alam na namin that this will be a very tough game because Barako Bull’s confidence is very high. We’re just lucky to survive the game and get the win,” Beermen Head Coach Leo Austria said.
“And I thought Tubid’s timely shot helped us win the game,” the Philippine Cup champion mentor added.
Reid had a solid all-around performance with 22 points, eight rebounds and six assists, and had a crucial block on Dylan Ababou in the closing seconds that sealed the win for the Beermen.
Reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo also finished with 22 points for San Miguel Beer in just 18 minutes, as Austria opted to use Espinas for most of the fourth quarter to hound McMorrow.
But it was Tubid’s explosion in the fourth period that helped San Miguel seize control of the game.
After Joseph Yeo hit a three-pointer to give the Energy a slim 93-92 lead, Tubid had 11 in the Beermen’s 13-6 exchange to give his team a 105-99 cushion with 6:18 remaining.
But Barako Bull kept on coming back and JC Intal’s three-pointer put the Energy back at the helm, 111-110, under a minute left in the contest.
Then Reid took charge as he scored a floater over Intal’s defense, 112-111, and after Yeo forced a three-point shot, Reid added two more free throws off Willy Wilson for a 114-111 edge with 6.8 ticks left.
Barako Bull Head Coach Koy Banal sued for time and mapped out a potential game-tying play. Ababou received the inbounds pass from the corner but Arizona foiled his three-point attempt and Fajardo sealed the victory with two more free throws.
Intal scored the last basket with 2.3 seconds left, probably thinking of the quotient that could play a role in the future.
Marcio Lassiter chipped in 18 markers for the Beermen, including a big three-pointer that gave them a 110-1108 lead.
McMorrow had game-highs 31 points and 25 rebounds but struggled offensively in the second half because of the pesky defense of Espinas.
Yeo had another sizzling offensive game with 25 points but threw an ill-advised shot in the final minute. Intal had 14 markers while Chico Lanete and Rico Maierhofer contributed 12 and 10 points respectively for Barako Bull, which stayed at the top of the standings with a 4-1 mark despite the loss.