SAN Miguel Beer showed flashes of its old lethal form to stop erstwhile streaking TNT 83-67 yesterday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Eager to continue making up for lost time, Terrence Romeo combined with Marcio Lassiter in an early 18-0 barrage by the Beermen, setting the tone for thedominant win that atoned for their shock 104-110 overtime loss to Terrafirma last week.
“That loss is a wake-up call para sa amin,” said SMB coach Leo Austria after the win that jacked his team’s record to 4-2, good for fourth.
“This is a big game for us and thankful ako talaga sa mga players kasi ang kanilang sense of urgency nandoon,” added Austria. “TNT, they are on a mission but mga players ko… want(ed) to win. That’s the thing. If you want to win kalahati ng trabaho mo tapos na.”
Lassiter finished with a team-high 19 points with Romeo adding 16 points, four rebounds and as many assists.
Mo Tautuaa and CJ Perez each had 13 points while June Mar Fajardo notched only eight points but hauled down 17 rebounds for SMB, which led by as much as 64-37.
TNT absorbed its first loss in seven games but still remained on top of the standings, half-a-game ahead of Magnolia.
Kib Montalbo had 13 points and paced the Tropang Giga, who shot just 26-of-78 from the field before notching their lowest output since a 63-77 loss to Petron in the 2013-14 edition of the same tournament.
Also opening the second week of the semi-bubble set-up on a high note was Magnolia, which outlasted NLEX 112-105 in double overtime to get back on track.
Calvin Abueva notched his league-high fourth double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds while Ian Sangalang took over in the second extra period with six of his 21 points as the Hotshots completed their big climb from as many as 16 points down.
“It’s all about grit and determination,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero after his team improved to 6-2 and solo second.
“I think we were down by (16) in the third quarter. We just tried to be composed and ang sabi ko lang sa kanila, we just try to limit ‘yung aming turnovers and at the same time mababa lang sa single digit pagdating ng fourth quarter. Then ‘yun, unti-unti.”
It’s not just the two Pampanga natives who shone for the Hotshots, however, with sophomore forward Aris Dionisio shining bright by nailing an off-balanced three-point shot—his third of the game—to knot the count at 104, 2.4 seconds left in the first OT.
Dionisio even had the chance to win it outright for the Hotshots when he recovered the missed bonus free throw off a follow by JR Quinahan, but his follow-up bounced hard off the glass just before the buzzer.
Dionisio wound up with 11 points to become a chief contributor alongside Paul Lee, who tallied 18 points, and Mark Barroca (13 points, seven rebounds and five assists).
“This group of guys, I’m very proud,” said Victolero. “They don’t give up. ‘Yung tinrabaho nila sobrang deserving talaga silang manalo. Second overtime ‘yung puso nila and ‘yung energy nila nandoon pa rin.”
