SAN Miguel Beer literally had an extra advantage against TNT KaTropa in Game Two of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night that ended with the Beermen holding on to a 106-102 win to advance to the semifinals.
After all, six SMB players were on the court at the same time at one point late in the first half.
With the Beermen down, 55-56, and with less than a shot clock remaining in the second quarter, June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Matt Ganuelas-Rosser, Brian Heruela, and import Renaldo Balkman were together on the floor all at once.
That led to TNT coach Nash Racela going to half court to complain by gesturing six fingers to the referees after they called timeout with 19.9 seconds left.
“Not sure what happened on SMB's end. Probably miscommunication,” Racela said the day after the game. “But I was surprised the refs didn't notice until our staff called their attention. Lack of focus on officials.”
The refs promptly assessed a technical foul on the Beermen.
Terrence Romeo, though, missed the technical free throw as the Texters headed to the dugout with only a one-point lead, which they gave up in the second half as they fell short of dragging the series to a sudden death.