MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel bucked the absence of import Dez Wells and pulled off a 99-96 overtime win over Blackwater in the 2019 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome on Wednesday, November 6.

Wells, who led the team in scoring with a whopping average of 37.1 points, remained sidelined due to a left ankle injury he suffered almost two weeks ago, but the Beermen made do without him as they snapped a two-game skid. 

June Mar Fajardo carried the scoring cudgels with 30 points and 13 rebounds for San Miguel, Terrence Romeo churned out 20 points off the bench, while Marcio Lassiter had 11 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals.

The trio were responsible for the run the Beermen used to turn back the Elite, who were on the verge of an upset despite the loss of top gunners Ray Parks and Allein Maliksi to trades after leading 92-90 in the extra quarter. 

Lassiter scored back-to-back buckets to give San Miguel a 94-92 advantage before Romeo and Fajardo extended their lead to 6 points with a minute left. 

Blackwater would narrow the gap to a single possession off two straight buckets from Mac Belo and Carl Bryan Cruz, 96-98, but it did not have enough time to force a second overtime period. 

Arwind Santos finished with 13 points and 9 rebounds as Alex Cabagnot chipped in 8 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals for the Beermen, who improved to 6-3 for solo No. 4 in the team standings. 

Belo paced the Elite, who were officially eliminated from contention with a 2-8 record, with 25 points and 8 rebounds off the bench, while import Marqus Blakely had 24 points, 18 rebounds, 6 steals, and 3 blocks.

Don Trollano pumped in 14 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists in his first game with Blackwater since being traded from TNT with Tony Semerad and a 2021 first-round pick for Parks. 

The Scores

San Miguel 99 – Fajardo 30, Romeo 20, Santos 13; Lassiter 11, Cabagnot 8, Pessumal 7, Nabong 6, Tautuaa 4, Rosser 0, Ross 0.

Blackwater 96 – Belo 25, Blakely 24, Trollano 14, Canaleta 13, Cruz 8, Javier 6, Tolomia 4, Sumang 2, Dario 0, Desiderio 0, Cruz 0, Al-Hussaini 0, Salem 0.

Quarters: 11-16, 34-37, 64-62, 88-88 (reg.), 99-96 (OT).

– Rappler.com