ANTIPOLO – San Miguel played with the poise and heart of a champion to subdue a stubborn Converge side, 109-105, and catch the last bus to the semifinals of the PBA Season 49 Governors Cup on Sunday.
June Mar Fajardo was a man-mountain for the Beermen with 40 points and 24 rebounds to guide the team past the FiberXers in a sudden-death Game Five that got heated, especially in a fiercely contested final quarter at the Ynares Center.
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The Beermen will now meet Barangay Ginebra Kings in the best-of-seven semifinals starting on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena.
Fajardo's 40-point output was a conference high while his 40-20 game was the third in his stellar career, according to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III.
"My hats off to June Mar Fajardo in this game. He played his heart out. I have nothing to say about this guy except all praises," said coach Jorge Gallent afterwards.
San Miguel had to dig deep into its bag of tricks in the last six minutes to overcome a FiberXers team that had control of the game for majority of the way.
The Beermen went on a 10-0 blast to overhaul an eight-point lead, which Fajardo capped with a basket underneath for a 101-99 lead.
The FiberXers held the upperhand for the last time at 102-101 on Alex Cabagnot’s final three pointer for the night before the Beermen went on a mini-run aided by a series of Converge turnovers in the homestretch to take the series win, 3-2.
Import EJ Anosike had 23 points and 10 rebounds, while CJ Perez was the other Beerman in double figures with 10 points plus nine assists and six rebounds.
Jalen Jones showed the way for Converge with 29 points and 17 rebounds, Alec Stockton added 22, and the duo of Bryan Santos and Cabagnot came through with 16 and 14, respectively.
Stockton, Santos, and Cabagnot were a combined 12-of-21 from the three-point arc, allowing the FiberXers to set the tempo of the match, which they led by as many as 13 in the early goings.
"It's a pesky young team," was how Gallent described the FiberXers, "We had a hard time going back on defense and everything."
The scores:
San Miguel (109) - Fajardo 40, Anosike 23, Perez 10, Rosales 9, Trollano 7, Lassiter 6, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 5, Romeo 3, Enciso 0.
Converge (105) - Jones 29, Stockton 22, Santos 16, Cabagnot 14, Winston 8, Arana 8, Delos Santos 4, Nieto 2, Caralipio 2, Ambohot 0.
Quarterscores: 22-34: 54-57; 89-87; 109-105.
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