SAN Miguel Beer weathered Talk ‘N Text strong fightback and banked on June Mar Fajardo’s steady hands at the free throw line to hack out an 87-81 win in Game Two of their best-of-seven semifinals series of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Fajardo was held down in the first three quarters but came alive in the payoff period, going 8-of-8 from the 15-foot line to lead the Beermen to a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
The reigning Most Valuable Player finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for his 11th double-double game of the tournament.
Alex Cabanot tallied a team-high 21 points, while Chris Lutz and Arwind Santos chipped in 14 and 10 markers, respectively for the team of Head Coach Leo Austria.
The Tropang Texters did a good job on Fajardo majority of the contest to stay in the game.
Kelly Williams’s drive tied the game for the last time at 71-all with 8:16 left but Fajardo gave the Beermen some distance with his perfect free throw shooting, 84-81, 1:41 remaining.
Talk ‘N Text had three chances to tie the game but missed all its three-point attempts and after Jayson Castro missed a drive, Fajardo canned in two more free throws for an 86-81 spread with 37 seconds remaining.
“We were fortunate we were able to snag this one,” Austria said. “Their level of offense and defense was really different tonight.”
Castro led all scorers with 26 points while Anthony Washington chipped in 17 for Talk ‘N Text.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine and Alaska go for a 2-1 lead as they clash in the crucial Game Three of their own best-of-seven semifinal series on Monday also at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Elasto Painters and the Aces face off at 7 p.m. with the winner taking the psychological edge in their series.
Rain or Shine tied the semis duel with a 102-95 win in Game Two behind the strong games from Jervy Cruz and Jonathan Uyloan, who knocked in 19 and 18 points respectively for the Elasto Painters.
They won despite Head Coach Yeng Guiao missing the early part of the game due to traffic gridlock going his way to the venue. Assistant Caloy Garcia handled the team to the victory.
“In the first game, we were erratic in the fourth quarter,” Garcia said referring to their 80-87 loss in Game One. “We put an effort from the beginning to secure the lead.”
Alaska Head Coach Alex Compton admitted Rain or Shine came out more prepared in Game Two and his Aces were simply outworked in that game.
“We turned the ball over, they outworked us. It’s that simple. I wish I could say technically, they ran their plays, but that’s not the case. They just played harder,” Compton said.
Image credits: Kevin De La Cruz