DOWN but not out, defending champion San Miguel Beer battled back against Bay Area to stay alive last night.
Thriving on both ends when it mattered most, the Beermen nipped the Dragons 98-96 in Game 3 of their best-of-5 semifinals duel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
Simon Enciso banged in what turned out to be the game-winning three-pointer in the last 10 seconds before import Devon Scott swatted Hayden Blankey’s layup that completed SMB’s gritty comeback from a 14-point deficit.
The Beermen bounced back from two straight losses, including a 95-114 defeat in Game 2 three days ago and cut Bay Area’s semis series lead to 1-2.
Scott notched a double-double of 25 points and 14 rebounds for SMB, while June Mar Fajardo chipped in 21 markers, 16 boards, and two assists.
CJ Perez, Enciso, and Terrence Romeo also had 17, 16, and 13 points, respectively for the Beermen.
SMB coach Leo Austria, who returned calling the shots for the squad in the second game, said his wards’ gutsy win could change their fortunes in the race-to-3 battle.
“The confidence na ibinigay sa amin, malaki ito. This is an indication na Bay Area is beatable,” Austria said. “I think I talked for not more than one minute because I’ve already written down the things that might happen in the game and I allowed them to read it for three to five minutes and I’m so happy sumaksak sa isipan nila.
“I think that was the winning block. Last time we got beaten by Kobey Lam. This time he did not allow it,” he added.
The Dragons led by as much as 31-17 on an Andrew Nicholson layup at the 10:50 mark of the second quarter.
The Beermen trailed 43-47 at the halfway mark but battled back and took a 75-70 advantage heading into the payoff period.
Nicholson paced Bay Area with 34 points and 14 caroms, while Zhu Songwei chipping in 17 markers but left the game with an injured right foot off a bad fall in the final 10.8 ticks.
