Beermen post strong elims finish
JUNE Mar Fajardo erupts for a double-double performance to lead the San Miguel Beermen to a 135-133 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in Season 50 PBA Governors’ Cup on Wednesday.
Photograph courtesy of PBA
n Miguel Beer erased a 13-point deficit down the stretch to stun NLEX, 135-133, in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Season 50 Governors’ Cup on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
George King was impressive, dropping 27 points and nine rebounds to help the Beermen finish the elimination round with a 9-3 win-loss record in Group A.
Although the Beermen forged a tie with NLEX on top, the Road Warriors still retained the top seed in the group by virtue of its 110-96 victory over San Miguel on 26 July at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Still, Beermen head coach Leo Austria was pleased with how his team responded under pressure.
“Before the start of the game, I told the team that let us play to win. This is for positioning but what we want to develop is the killer instinct,” Austria said.
“There was a no-bearing game for us. We thought we were losing heading into the fourth quarter because we were not playing well until we had a good combination. We have been in these kinds of situations before.”
Down 118-131, Don Trollano sparked San Miguel’s late rally with a layup at the 4:56 mark, igniting an 11-0 run that cut NLEX’s lead to 129-131 with 2:02 remaining.
Deonte Burton then answered with a floater at the 1:23 mark to give the Road Warriors a 133-129 cushion.
But Trollano and Jericho Cruz scored back-to-back baskets to tie the game at 133 with 53 seconds left.
San Miguel caught a break when Robert Bolick was called for goaltending with 3.8 seconds remaining, giving the Beermen a razor-thin two-point lead.
The Road Warriors had one last chance to force overtime, but LJ Gonzales’ three-pointer bounced off the rim as time expired.
June Mar Fajardo posted a double-double with 26 points and 10 rebounds, while Trollano also finished with a double-double of 23 points and 10 boards.
Burton erupted for a career-high 43 points, but his spectacular performance went for naught as the Road Warriors ended its elimination-round campaign on a sorry note.