SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen survived the TNT KaTropa, 80-78, to kick off their best-of-3 quarterfinals series in the 2019 PBA Philippine Cup playoffs at the Mall of Asia Arena on Saturday, April 6.
A balanced scoring effort proved key for the Beermen, who were led with three 15-point outings, most notably from former TNT guard Terrence Romeo.
It was a game of runs in the first 3 quarters, with TNT repeatedly negating San Miguel’s rallies en route to a 65-60 lead at the end of the 3rd.
However, the Beermen finally broke through with an 8-2 run to open the 4th, ending with a go-ahead layup by Christian Standhardinger with 9:04 left in regulation.
With the offense from both squads slowing down the stretch, Chris Ross made it a two-possession lead for SMB, 75-71, off split free throws at the 4:32 mark.
But the unyielding Troy Rosario soon tied the game up, 75-all, after 4 straight charities in consecutive possessions.
After RR Pogoy split another TNT trip at the line, Rosario got back and sank the smooth turnaround shot for the 78-75 advantage at the 2:17 mark of the game.
Not to be outdone, five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo hit TNT back with two straight shots from close-range to take back the lead, 79-78, in the last 63 ticks of regulation.
After a costly Pogoy turnover in the final 27 seconds, Kelly Williams got called for a loose ball foul after grabbing Fajardo’s shorts in a rebound battle. Fajardo, however, left an open window for TNT after splitting from the line, 80-78.
Pogoy had 2.2 seconds to heave a game-winner off the timeout, but his last shot clanked off as time expired.
Fajardo had 15 points and 10 rebounds with 4 blocks in the win while Marcio Lassiter also had 15 markers with 6 boards.
TNT, meanwhile, saw Rosario’s 23-point outing go to waste as they fell 0-1 in the series. Pogoy added 16 markers, but needed 20 shots to get there.
The series moves to the Araneta Coliseum on Monday, April 8 as SMB looks to finish off TNT.
The Scores
San Miguel 80 – Romeo 15, Lassiter 15, Fajardo 15, Cabagnot 12, Santos 8, Ross 6, Standhardinger 5, Pessumal 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Nabong 0.
TNT 78 – Rosario 23, Pogoy 16, Trollano 11, Williams 9, Castro 8, Taha 8, Reyes 2, Semerad, A. 1, Heruela 0, Carey 0, Washington 0, Semerad, D. 0.
Quarters: 13-22, 39-46, 60-65, 80-78.
– Rappler.com
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