SAN Miguel leaned on a huge third-quarter run to beat Barangay Ginebra, 91-85, on Friday to snatch a 2-1 series lead in their PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup semifinals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Don Trollano erupted all game long including leading a 14-0 third-period blast that turned a 50-49 deficit into a 65-50 advantage for the Beermen midway in the quarter.
Trollano finished with 33 points in the SMB win that got them the series advantage even after June Mar Fajardo was held scoreless in the first three quarters of the match.
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The series moves to the SM Mall of Asia Arena for Game 4 on Sunday.
Fajardo played through a shoulder injury that ended his string of 20-20 games at three, but San Miguel still found a way to win thanks to Trollano and company.
“I’m so happy with the team because everybody is supporting each other,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Trollano had 15 points in the third quarter and opened that massive run with back-to-back threes that even raised San Miguel’s lead to 70-52, the biggest gap of the match-up.
Cjay Perez finished with 19 points including a free throw that got the Beermen ahead by 18. He also had seven in that crucial run including a dunk that gave San Miguel a 65-50 lead.
Scottie Thompson had 17 points and nine rebounds, while Japeth Aguilar and RJ Abarrientos had 14 points apiece but their efforts were still not enough.
After that Beermen run in the third quarter, the closest Ginebra got was at 87-83, but Trollano made a three-point play and SMB regained the control of the contest.
The scores:
San Miguel 91 – Trollano 33, Perez 19, Tautuaa 13, Lassiter 8, Fajardo 6, Tiongson 4, Teng 3, Cruz 2, Ross 2, Cahilig 1, Brondial 0.
Barangay Ginebra 85 – Thompson 17, Abarrientos 14, J. Aguilar 14, Pinto 8, Gray 7, Rosario 7, Holt 6, David 6, Torres 3, Cu 2, Estil 1.
Quarters: 26-21; 47-41; 74-63; 91-85.
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