MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – June Mar Fajardo’s double-double and Arwind Santos’s 4th quarter heroics anchored the San Miguel Beermen back to the semifinals of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup with a 106-93 win over the TNT KaTropa at the Mall of Asia Arena Tuesday, March 7. 

Fajardo scored a game-high 35 points, hauled down 11 rebounds and swatted two shots while Santos scored 10 of his 15 points in the payoff period to help San Miguel, which had a twice-to-beat advantage, finish the quarterfinals series in one game. 

The game was tied at 79-all in the 4th period before the Beermen found their touch from 3-point land with Brian Heruela burying a triple and Santos knocking down back-to-back treys for an 88-83 lead. 

TNT narrowed the gap to two points after an Anthony Semerad layup, 88-90, but San Miguel answered with back-to-back Santos and Fajardo buckets, 94-80.

San Miguel scored a 6-0 within the last two minutes to put the nail in the coffin. 

Santos, who was ejected with 1:20 minutes left in the game after receiving his second technical foul, also finished with 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 4 blocks. 

Marcio Lassiter added 20 points, 5 rebounds, two assists and two steals and Chris Ross chipped in 13 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 rebounds and 3 steals in the win. 

“Talagang nagpapasalamat ako dahil ngayon, this is the hardest game we ever had against Talk N Text dahil they’ve been in two knockout games and then lahat tinambakan nila,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austraia.

(I am really thankful since this is the hardest game we ever had against Talk ‘N Text because in the two knockout games they have been in, they pulled off lopsided wins.)

“But I have to give credit to the boys, especially to June Mar Fajardo. He was so focused in this game and the players, Arwind, all of them.” 

Jayson Castro had 19 points and 8 assists for the KaTropa while Troy Rosario added 19 points and 7 rebounds. 

Roger Pogoy, Semerad and Kelly Williams chalked up 17, 16 and 15 points, respectively, in the loss. 

The Scores:

San Miguel (106): Fajardo 35, Lassiter 20, Santos 15, Ross 13, Cabagnot 8, Heruela 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, De Ocampo 3, Pessumal 2, Espinas 1

TNT (93): Castro 19, Rosario 19, Pogoy 17, Semerad 16, Williams 15, Cruz 3, Garcia 2, Torres 2, Carey 0, Paredes 0, Reyes 0, Tautuaa 0

Quarter scores: 31-23, 52-44, 77-72, 106-93

– Rappler.com