MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) The San Miguel Beermen are through to the semifinals of the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup after weathering a late rally from the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 98-91, on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
RR Garcia gave the defending All-Filipino Cup champions a lift off the bench, scoring 25 points on 7-of-11 shooting in what was his very first playoff game for San Miguel Beer. Gabby Espinas provided the Beermen with key defensive stops in the third quarter, and Arwind Santos sealed the victory with a clutch basket and the game-icing free throws.
"I was a little bit worried, because Rain or Shine is also a contender," San Miguel coach Leo Austria said after the game. "We had a hard time beating them, although lumalamang kami ng 17 or 18 points. They keep on catching up."
The Beermen blew the game open in the second quarter as they outscored ROS, 23-17, behind an 11-point frame from Garcia. The former UAAP MVP made three of his four three-pointers in the quarter, and Espinas added a trifecta of his own to help SMB lead by as much as 15, 49-34.
"I have to commend RR, dahil nag-step up siya," Austria said. "If not for his outside shooting, I think we're in trouble."
Rain or Shine clawed back in the third quarter behind Beau Belga and James Yap, and came to as close as six points, 55-61, after two charities from Ronnie Matias. It seemed as though momentum was on the side of the Elasto Painters, especially after Austria subbed out June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter in favor of Espinas and Garcia, respectively.
Instead, Espinas came through with a couple of defensive stops, first stuffing a drive by Belga, which led to a three-pointer from Santos. In the next possession, he stifled Yap, and SMB responded with a another three-pointer, this time from Alex Cabagnot.
The Beermen led comfortably from that point on, but Rain or Shine rallied to make it a five-point game with 1:10 to go, thanks to an 8-0 run capped by a Belga lay-up that made it 89-94.
However, Santos came through with a putback of a missed shot by Fajardo, and after another bucket from Norwood, Santos canned two clutch free throws to peg the final score.
"Hindi ganoon kaganda ang laro namin," admitted Austria. "But a win is a win for us."
San Miguel has now won 10 straight games in the Philippine Cup, with their last loss coming on November 30 against Phoenix, incidentally at the Ynares Center.
Rain or Shine, coming off a victory over Blackwater in a playoff for the last quarterfinals berth, actually led 8-2 early, thanks to back-to-back triples from Jewel Ponferrada. But they gave up a 13-2 run to San Miguel, and never regained the advantage.
Fajardo shrugged off a slow start to finish with 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter fired 13 points and Cabagnot added 13. But the star of the show for SMB was Garcia, who made five of his seven three-pointers while adding three assists and four boards.
Belga finished with a team-high 18 points, and Norwood added 14. Jay Washington had 16 points, but the Elasto Painters made only six of a whopping 40 attempts from beyond the arc, while getting out-rebounded, 57-44.
The scores:
RAIN OR SHINE 91 - Belga 18, Washington 16, Norwood 14, Ahanmisi 12, Ponferada 10, Yap 9, Chan 6, Cruz 4, Matias 2, Tolomia 0, Tiu 0, Trollano 0.
Quarter scores: 28-21, 51-38, 74-67, 98-91.
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