Kings lose huge lead, rally to beat Beermen
Game Wednesday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 7 p.m. – San Miguel vs Ginebra
LUCENA – Barangay Ginebra slugged it out with San Miguel Beer every inch of the way until the final hour of a wild rollercoaster game, then fought with stubborn tenacity in the dying seconds to carve out a deserving overtime win, 124-118, before a jampacked crowd yelling fans late last night at the Quezon Convention Center here.
It was a long, hard, agonizing battle for the two sister teams before the Kings, egged on by local fans, blanked the Beermen in the final 88 seconds of play.
Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, Sol Mercado and Joe Devance came out as Ginebra’s biggest heroes in the bizarre game where they blew a huge 26-point lead, literally rose from the dead in the final second of regulation and lived to force a 1-1 deadlock in the best-of-seven title series.
They face off again in Game Three over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Thompson recorded a new personal career high of 18 rebounds and added 18 points and eight assists in a near tripledouble performance, with Aguilar, Devance and Mercado also churning out big games to help foil SMB’s bid at taking a 2-0 series lead.
San Miguel, owner of a record comeback win in a finals series, came fractions of a second close to carving out another amazing feat, but Devance recovered a blocked shot and scored underneath at the buzzer to force the OT at 110.
The Beermen were then in the cusp of scoring the biggest comeback triumph in a final game.
But Ginebra got its second wind and eventually shattered SMB’s bid as the Kings pounded the Beermen, 14-8, in the extra period.
But it wasn’t that easy even as SMB lost Marcio Lassiter on a second technical infraction with a minute to go in the third period and June Mar Fajardo on his sixth foul with 2:33 left in regulation play.
Shock-troopers Ronald Tubid and Gabby Espinas stepped up on the duo’s exit and helped drag the Kings in a long, gripping battle.
Just as the Kings seemed to have regained control early in overtime, Tubid knocked in backto-back treys to again tie the count at 118 heading to the last two minutes.
Two free throws by Aguilar then a layup by Thompson on a defensive breakdown by the Beermen enabled the Kings to finally ease the pressure at 122-118.
Lassiter exploded for 16 of his 21 points in the third quarter, leading the Beermen’s stunning comeback from 26 down before heading to the exit on a technical foul for a taunting act on Sol Mercado. Earlier, he was called a flagrant foul on Kevin Ferrer.
The scores: GINEBRA 124 – Aguilar 23, Ferrer 21, Thompson 18, Devance 16, Tenorio 15, Mercado 11, Ellis 8, Marcelo 6, Cruz 4, Taha 2.
SAN MIGUEL 118 – Santos 23, Lassiter 21, Ross 16, Tubid 16, Cabagnot 13, Espinas 13, Fajardo 10, Heruela 4, De Ocampo 2, Agovida 0, Reyes 0.
Quarterscores: 28-20, 67-43, 85-82, 110110, 124-118