By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel weathered a late storm from Converge to fashion out a 102-95 escape and draw first blood in their quarterfinals series in the PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Thursday, Sept. 26.
The first game of the playoffs seemed to be just another day in the office for the dominant Beermen when they took a 16-point lead late in the final frame but they still needed to survive some tense moments to take a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-five affair.
June Mar Fajardo remained a towering presence for SMB with a double-double of 25 points and 16 rebounds to go with his three assists, three blocks and two steals while new import EJ Anosike had a solid debut with 28 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.
The Beermen led in double figures for the most part of the second half and even looked to be on their way to victory after erecting a 16-point lead, 97-81, just a little over three minutes left in the game.
The FiberXers, however, refused to easily go down without a fight, unloading a huge 14-2 rally in just roughly three-minute span to cut the deficit down just five, 99-95.
Timely defensive stops along with the steady free-throw shooting from Anosike and Perez proved to be enough to seal the deal for the Beermen.
Meanwhile in the first game, Barangay Ginebra squandered a 15-point second half lead but recovered just in time to hold off Meralco, 99-91, and take Game 1 of their quarterfinals series.
Justin Brownlee came up huge in the waning minutes and delivered the crucial hits to preside over a telling 14-5 spurt and finally shake off the Bolts for a 1-0 lead in the series that so far has lived up to the expectations as another enthralling chapter to their storied rivalry.
Brownlee fired 10 of his game-high 29 points in the final frame when Ginebra lost grip of the once 66-51 lead in the third frame and suddenly trailed by one 77-78 midway through the final period.
He did a little bit of everything, also collecting 13 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a block while Scottie Thompson provided support with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Stephen Holt also had 14 points while Japeth Aguilar chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds.
Scoreless in the entire eliminations, Ralph Cu was also a spark off the bench for Ginebra, finishing with nine points – highlighted by the timely triple that gave the lead back to the Kings, 80-78, in the final frame.
The Kings slowly but surely regained their footing from there, pulling off the necessary stops to fuel the telling run that allowed them to reestablish a 95-85 lead with 2:50 left.
Meralco, though, did not go down without a fight as it still threatened late, cutting the lead down to just five, 97-92, only to get the door shut on them by Brownlee’s free throws.
The Scores :
First Game:
GINEBRA 99 – Brownlee 29, Thompson 19, Holt 14, J.Aguilar 10, Cu 9, Abarrientos 8, Ahanmisi 8, Devance 2, R.Aguilar 0.
MERALCO 92 – Hodge 23, Newsome 20, Durham 17, Banchero 11, Quinto 10, Caram 6, Almazan 5, Rios 0, Mendoza 0, Bates 0, Cansino 0, Jose 0.
QUARTERS : 28-24, 53-43, 73-71, 99-92
Second Game:
SAN MIGUEL 102 – Anosike 28, Fajardo 25, perez 11, Rosales 11, Trollano 6, Cruz 6, Romeo 4, Ross 4, Lassiter 3, Enciso 3, Brondial 1.
CONVERGE 95 – Jones 22, Arana 20, Winston 17, Caralipio 10, Delos Santos 7, Stockton 5, Ambohot 5, Cabagbot 3, Andrade 3, Santos 3, Nieto 0.
QUARTERS : 30-23, 55-50, 85-72, 102-95
