SAN Miguel Beer restored order in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, leaning on a late flurry to beat Barangay Ginebra, 99-88, on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Chris Ross, the defensive anchor, again made the difference on offense, hitting a clutch three-pointer to cap off 12 unanswered SMB points that took the fight out of the Gin Kings in front of nearly 17,000 fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
PBA March 01, 2017
EVENTS: Full Game Replay
Where: SMART ARANETA COLISEUM
When: WEDNESDAY 01 MARCH 2016
When: WEDNESDAY 01 MARCH 2016
Alex Cabagnot matched Ross’s firepower, while June Mar Fajardo regained his footing down low, finishing with a double-double to lead the Beermen in erasing an early double-digit deficit.
The Beermen had to produce another balanced effort to break away from a tight battle against a shorthanded Gin Kings side that was missing Jervy Cruz.
Joe Devance, another hurting Ginebra player, put Ginebra on top with a triple that made it 88-87, but that turned out to be their last basket in the last four minutes as the Beermen pulled away, with Fajardo putting them ahead for good with a three-point play on the other end.
LA Tenorio led the Gin Kings with 16 points, five assists, and five boards, while five other teammates scored at least eight points apiece that still proved insufficient.
The Final Scoreboard:
SMB 99 – Ross 24, Cabagnot 20, Fajardo 17, Lassiter 16, Santos 9, Tubid 6, Reyes 3, Heruela 2, Espinas 2, Garcia 0
GINEBRA 88 – Tenorio 16, Ferrer 15, Aguilar 12, Ellis 12, Caguioa 11, Thompson 8, Devance 6, Mercado 5, Marcelo 3, Helterbrand 0, Taha 0
Quarterscores: 19-24, 44-49, 69-66, 99-88