Finishing kick
In Game 5 of the PBA Commissioner ’s Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, it was all about starting strong and finishing stronger. San Miguel Beer jumped to a 5-0 start, withstood a furious TNT assault and closed out with a flourish to eke out a 99-94 win.
After TNT opened a 16-point lead with 10:39 left in the payoff quarter, the KaTropa began playing not to lose. Instead of throwing the Beermen deeper in a hole, TNT just tried to stay afloat with head over water. That change in mindset from aggressive to tentative opened the door for San Miguel to storm back. TNT suddenly lost its zip and looked to milk the clock with fatigue slowing down the KaTropa tempo. Jayson Castro walked, not ran, up the floor. It was the same thing with Terrence Jones. TNT wanted to preserve its last ounce of energy for the final push and in the process, San Miguel seized the momentum.
Inside the last minute, Jones missed three shots and turned the ball over that led to San Miguel import Chris McCullough hitting a basket to lift the Beermen to a 95-94 edge, time down to 26.5 seconds. It was San Miguel’s first taste of the lead since the first quarter. Jones attacked the basket to try to bring the driver’s seat back to TNT but his shot missed with 18 ticks to go. McCullough was fouled and made two free throws to stretch San Miguel’s advantage to three, 97-94, with 13.3 seconds remaining. Troy Rosario flubbed a three then Jones fouled Chris Ross who closed out the scoring with two free throws to make it 99-94. San Miguel ended with a 6-0 run.
Jones did everything he could and left it all on the court. But the grind of a grueling series told on his performance in the fourth period. He shot 15 in the first, seven in the second and 10 in the third. Jones sputtered in the last 12 minutes where he committed five of his seven turnovers and went 0-of-5 from the floor as his only points came from the line. Castro was 1-of-5 and Rosario 0-of-4 from the field to add to coach Mark Dickel’s homestretch woes.
On the other hand, San Miguel leaned on McCullough for its last-ditch rally. McCulough had four points in the first period, six in both the second and third then erupted for 19 in the fourth quarter with Jones tiring out in their match-up. San Miguel coach Leo Austria used Christian Standhardinger to defend Jones in the last few minutes. Standhardinger played only 15:01 minutes in the game compared to JuneMar Fajardo who logged 29:12. But in the fourth quarter, Standhardinger was in for 7:17 minutes and Fajardo only 4:43 as Austria tasked the FilGerman to contain Jones.
San Miguel’s finishing combination featured Standhardinger, McCullough, Terrence Romeo, Chris Ross and Alex Cabagnot. McCullough almost singlehandedly delivered the win for San Miguel. He triggered a 9-0 surge after San Miguel fell behind by 16 then shot six of San Miguel’s last eight points to ice it. McCullough wound up with 35 points and 22 boards. He also grabbed 22 rebounds in Games 2 and 4 both of which San Miguel took. Terrence Romeo netted 22 and Fajardo, 16.
Since McCullough’s arrival to replace Charles Rhodes, San Miguel has zoomed to an 11-4 record. The Beermen got off to a sluggish start with Rhodes and had a 2-6 record when McCullough came in. At 24, McCullough isn’t as experienced and mature as Jones. McCullough never even finished a season in college as an ACL injury cut short his freshman stint at Syracuse. Then, he opted to turn pro and relying on faith, the Brooklyn Nets picked him on the first round in the 2015 NBA draft. McCullough didn’t play in his first NBA game until four months into his rookie season. He went on to see action in 59 games over three NBA campaigns with Brooklyn and Washington while Jones suited up for Houston, New Orleans and Milwaukee in 234 games, excluding the playoffs, over six years. Jones, 27, teamed with Anthony Davis to power Kentucky to the US NCAA championship in 2011-12.
Dickel made some adjustments in Game 5. One was starting former San Miguel reserve David Semerad in place of Rosario. Dickel deployed Semerad, not Jones, to defend Fajardo in the early going. Semerad finished with six points. He previously went scoreless in three finals games. Rosario came off the bench to score 16, the only contributor from outside Dickel’s first unit.
Once more, the team with more rebounds won as San Miguel had the edge, 50-49, in Game 5. The Beermen shot at a higher clip from the floor, 45.1 percent to 41.6 with more free throws, 18-of-21 to 6-of-8. TNT knocked down 14 triples on 41 attempts and hit 23-of-48 from two-point range. San Miguel took 15 less triples but eight more two-pointers to account for a higher overall field goal percentage.
Jones and McCullough played the entire duration of Game 5. Two other TNT players logged at least 40 minutes while Ross was the only other San Miguel player with at least 40. TNT’s short rotation has meant more minutes for Dickel’s starters who’re responsible for over 90 percent of the KaTropa points. If Tony Semerad, Ryan Reyes and Kelly Williams were available, Dickel could’ve used a deeper rotation.
In Game 6 at the Big Dome tonight, San Miguel takes its first crack at clinching the series. How much gas is left in TNT’s tank is a big question mark. Jones went all out in Game 5 and had little left to show in the fourth period. San Miguel was ahead in only 5:18 minutes but the lead came when it mattered most to decide Game 5.