San Miguel ousts TNT, secures Final Four slot
Once again, June Mar Fajardo cast his huge shadow over TNT. The reigning four-time MVP scored 35 points on top of 11 rebounds in powering San Miguel Beer over TNT, 106-93, Tuesday and into the PBA Philippine Cup semi-finals first at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Fellow starters Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross also played key roles as the top-ranked Beermen did not let their winonce advantage over the eighth-seeded KaTropa go to waste.
As an additional result, coach Leo Austria got some form of present for his wife, who underwent a kidney transplant operation earlier in the day, making the five-time champion strategist antsy before the game.
"I never had any sleep last night because of my wife and I also knew this is going to be the hardest game we'd ever played against TNT," said Austria.
"Kasi two knockout games nila, parehong tinambakan nila. But my players, like June Mar, he was so focused. Arwind, all of them. We followed our gameplan to the letter. "
The loss is a very bitter one for TNT, which had to beat NLEX at the end of their elimination round last Friday and Phoenix in their onegame playoff two days later just to earn the last quarterfinals ticket.
They even fought back from an early 12-point deficit and even battled the Beermen on practically even terms. But the three-time defending champions' poise and grit surfaced, much like what they did in diffusing the KaTropa's challenge in their semi-final duel in the same tournament last year.
"Their experience in the playoffs surfaced, on both ends," noted Austria. "Sometimes may relaxation, pero the veterans really stepped up."
Although Brian Heruela's triple proved to be the go-ahead basket from the last deadlock at 79-all, Santos provided the sustaining fire with 10 of his 15 points during an 18-2 surge that staked SMB to a 100-90 spread, only 1:20 remaining.
Jericho Cruz typified TNT's frustrations by delivering a forearm to Santos' nape after getting bumped by the former MVP during Ross' breakaway layup.
For the second motion, Santos was slapped his second technical foul that led to his ejection. Cruz was meted an F1.
Alex Cabagnot drained the two charities and Ross followed with two freebies of his own, practically sealing the deal with a 104-91 count, only 57.6 ticks left.
Lassiter wound up with 20 points, including five straight that gave SMB a 7772 lead at the end of three quarters. Santos added seven rebounds and four blocked shots while Ross chipped in 13 points and a game-high seven assists.
Jayson Castro, Roger Pogoy, Anthony Semerad and Kelly Williams all finished with at least 15 points each as the KaTropa wound up with their worst finish under coach Nash Racela. —
PBA.com