June Mar Fajardo exploded for a monster double-double of 27 points and 27 rebounds as San Miguel Beer outlasted TNT in overtime, 108-100, in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead in the PBA Philippine Cup finals.

Playing for the first time in the series, Robbie Herndon also came through with clutch baskets in overtime to help seal the win for the Beermen.

(READ: Herndon plays hero, Fajardo puts up 20-20 as San Miguel beats TNT in OT for 2-1 lead)

Preview

It’s all tied up.

San Miguel and TNT fight for control of the PBA Philippine Cup finals as they vie for a 2-1 lead when they lock horns in the all-important Game 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena on Friday, August 26.

When it comes to momentum, though, the Beermen hold the advantage as they tied the best-of-seven championship series at 1-1 with a convincing 109-100 win.

Even with Best Player of the Conference frontrunner June Mar Fajardo putting up modest numbers, San Miguel flaunted its full strength with six players scoring in double figures led by the trio of CJ Perez, Vic Manuel, and Marcio Lassiter.

Perez set the tone with 23 points, while Manuel and Lassiter delivered the finishing touches as they anchored their fourth-quarter breakaway and finished with 20 and 19 points, respectively.

“I thank the Lord because we did not go down 2-0,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria in Filipino. “If we went down 2-0, it is already hard to come back.”

“We’re so happy we won because it is hard to beat Talk ‘N Text.”

Roger Pogoy put the Tropang Giga on his back with 28 points on a stellar 6-of-10 clip from three-point range, but his efforts were not enough for TNT to repeat its Game 1 victory.

The Tropang Giga crumbled in the fourth quarter as star guard Mikey Williams struggled to make his presence felt after suffering a sprained ankle in the first half.

Williams scored a conference-low 7 points, a far cry from his league-leading average of 19.7 points.

But TNT is determined to regain the upper hand as it looks to welcome back head coach Chot Reyes from his Gilas Pilipinas stint with a triumph.

Game time is 5:45 pm.

– Rappler.com