TERRENCE Romero sparked a San Miguel comeback before June Mar Fajardo completed the job at endgame as the defending PBA Philippine Cup champion rallied back for an 80-78 win over TnT Katroap in Game 1 of their quarter-finals series at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Romeo came off the bench to score 15 points and ignite a second half comeback by the Beermen in the Petron Blaze Saturday special. It was the first time the San Miguel wingman is facing his former team in the playoffs since being traded by TnT at the start of the season.
Fajardo also finished with 15 points and took charge when the going got tough entering the homestretch of the opener of the best-of-three series.
The five-time MVP scored the team's last five points - including two from putbacks - to secure the win and moved within arm's stretched of earning a berth in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Fajardo also added 10 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter also finished with 15 for San Miguel, which trailed by as many as 12 early on and played catch-up game majority of the way.
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"We thought we'll be losing because of the bad start. We all know TnT has to prove something and they want to beat us badly," said coach Leo Austria.
"I want to commend the players because they refused to lose."
Troy Rosario finished with 23 points and nine rebounds to lead TnT, which also got 16 and 11 from Roger Pogoy and Don Trollano, respectively.
The Katropa appeared ready to take control in the final two minutes when Rosario hit a jumper to make it a 78-75 lead.
But Fajardo began imposing his presence in the middle, scoring off two offensive rebounds to give San Miguel a 79-78 edge to stay in front.
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He later split his free throws with 2.2 seconds left for a two-point San Miguel lead and opening the door for a possible TnT win.
But Pogoy's desperate three-pointer at the buzzer was out of line, allowing the Beermen to escape with the hard-earned win.
Game 2 is set Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. (RG)
The scores:
San Miguel 80 - Lassiter 15, Fajardo 15, Romeo 15, Cabagnot 12, Santos 8, Ross 6, Standahrdinger 5, Rosser 2, Pessumal 2, Nabong 0.
TNT 78 - Rosario 23, Pogoy 16, Trollano 11, Williams 9, Taha 8, Castro 8, Reyes 2, A. Semerad 1, Carey 0, Heruela 0, D. Semerad 0, Washington 0.
Quarterscores: 13-22; 39-46; 60-65; 80-78.
