BEHIND a 13-1 tear to start the final canto, San Miguel Beer broke loose from a nip-and-tuck battle en route to a 109-100 fightback win over TNT Tropang Giga in Game 2 of their PBA Philippine Cup title showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
Marcio Lassiter and Vic Manuel starred in the SMB breakaway then June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez came in to help make the finishing touches as the Beermen forged the 1-1 deadlock in the race-to-four series.
Fajardo made just 13 points (way below his average), but five other Beermen scored in double figures as SMB bounced back strong from a sorry 86-84 loss Sunday.
No way the Beermen would allow themselves to fall in a 0-2 hole versus a TNT side missing the services of head coach Chot Reyes.
The Tropang Giga actually did a good job under sub coach Sandy Arespacochaga through the first three quarters, engaging the Beermen in a battle where no team managed to lead by more than six.
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But then came TNT's spate of errors at the start of the fourth, giving an opening pounded by the Beermen to erect a 15-point spread at 95-80.
And there's no stopping coach Leo Austria and his crew from pulling off the equalizer.
Perez fired 23 points, Manuel added 20 while Lassiter, Jericho Cruz and Moala Tautuaa chipped in 19, 12 and 11, respectively, for the Beermen who scored 25 points more than they did in Game 1.
"Struggle kami ng husto sa Game 1, at pinagtrabahuhan namin ng husto ito ngayon," said Manuel, himself making a big turnaround from his silent performance the last time.
The Tropang Giga dragged the Beermen to a battle through the first 36 minutes of play, with RR Pogoy leading the way with 28 points spiked by six three-pointers.
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Alas, Pogoy went scoreless in the payoff period.
Struggling all night on the swarming defense by the Beermen, Mikey Williams bled for only seven markers.
Jayson Castro rifled in 15, Kib Montalbo tossed in 14 while Kelly Williams and Troy Rosario combined for 21.
Even with Fajardo having measly output, the Beermen battered the Tropa, 56-38, on points at the paint.
The two teams split the tie in Game 3 Friday, with Arespacoshaga still calling the shots for TNT. (SB)
The Scores:
San Miguel 109 - Perez 23, Manuel 20, Lassiter 19, Fajardo 13, Cruz 12, Tautuaa 11, Brondial 7, Ross 4, Enciso 0, Zamar 0.
TNT 100 - Pogoy 28, Castro 15, Montalbo 14, Rosario 11, K.Williams 10, M. Williams 7, Erram 7, Reyes 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 3, Khobuntin 2, Marcelo 0.
Quarters: 30-28, 51-51, 82-79, 109-100
