By REYNALD MAGALLON
Vic Manuel. June Mar Fajardo. Jericho Cruz
And then there was Robbie Herndon.
Heroes were plenty for San Miguel Beer as it grinded out a 108-100 victory over TNT in an overtime thriller in Game 3 of their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Mall of Asia on Friday, Aug. 26.
Making up for a mental lapse in regulation where he was slapped with a technical for delaying the game that allowed the Tropang Giga to tie the game 94-all, Herndon came up huge in the overtime, triggering a huge 7-0 run with a layup and a booming triple to give the Beermen the much-needed breathing room on the way to a 2-1 series lead.
Fajardo had a monster stat line of 27 points and 27 rebounds, his 14th 20-20 game in his career and first in the last four years, while the seldom-used Herndon stepped up in the absence of Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez who fouled out late in the final frame, finishing with eight points and four rebounds in only eight minutes of play.
Jericho Cruz also provided solid support with 18 points while Chris Ross broke out of his shooting slump with timely baskets in overtime to finish with eight. Vic Manuel added 12 while Lassiter and Perez chipped in 13 and 11, respectively.
“I’m so happy for them kasi nakikita natin na talagang gusto nila manalo. I’m very surprised first of all, I would like to congratulate my players not only June Mar that’s given na eh, but Robbie Herndon for being patient,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria
“Nagkaroon ng opportunity and probably that’s the revelation para sa team namin. We know he can play,” he added.
Memories of the painful Game 1 loss came rushing back for SMB as TNT, just like in the series opener, had the last shot in the final possession with 11.7 seconds left in regulation.
The Beermen though made sure to write a different ending this time as Cruz put the clamps down on Jayson Castro and forced him to an off-balanced shot that never grazed the rim as the time expired.
RR Pogoy sustained his fiery finals show with 25 points while Castro and Mikey Williams, who was limited to just seven points in Game 2, both unloaded 17 points apiece.
Up only by one, 91-90 with 2:28 left Herndon, cold off the bench, buried a huge right wing triple to give SMB a 94-90 lead. A layup and a split from the foul line from Kelly Williams pulled the Tropang Giga within one before Herndon was called for the technical, awarding Pogoy a layup which he coolly sank to tie the game in regulation.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 108 – Fajardo 27, Cruz 18, Lassiter 13, Manuel 12, Perez 11, Ross 8, Herndon 8, Tautuaa 6, Brondial 5, Enciso 0
TNT 100 – Pogoy 25, M. Williams 17, Castro 17, Erram 11, Khobuntin 11, K. Williams 10, Rosario 4, Reyes 3, Marcelo 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Montalbo 0, Cruz 0
Quarters: 27-19, 49-46, 74-76, 94-94, 108-100.
