SAN Miguel leaned on the heroics of Mo Tautuaa to survive a huge scare from Terrafirma, 113-110, on Wednesday and stay unbeaten in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
Tautuaa came off the bench to score his conference-high 24 points to lift the Beermen, who won the game despite trailing by as many as 12 points against a Dyip team that was hungry for another upset.
San Miguel remained in first place with a 5-0 win-loss record after sending Terrafirma to a 4-4 record just days after it shocked Barangay Ginebra last Sunday.
The Beermen got a huge contribution from Tautuaa, who scored 17 points in the fourth quarter including a lay-up with 15.1 seconds remaining to settle the final score.
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Tautuaa also played good defense in the final seconds against Juami Tiongson, who was forced to pass off to Isaac Go who missed the three-pointer in Terrafirma’s last attempt.
Tautuaa’s effort spoiled the career-night for Go, who had his personal best of 21 points for Terrafirma on seven treys.
“We just needed stops in the end. Mo did a good job switching to Juami and defending him well. That’s why we won the game,” said San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent.
Terrafirma had an excellent start, leading 19-7 early in the game, and held a 54-45 halftime lead only for San Miguel to turn the tide in the second half.
It became a ‘Mo vs. Go’ shootout in the fourth quarter with Go making nine including a three-pointer that put Terrafirma ahead 103-102.
It was the last time Terrafirma tasted the lead as Tautuaa making five points in the endgame including a three-pointer with 1:34 remaining in the contest for a 111-107 lead.
CJ Perez had 25 points, while June Mar Fajardo had 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Beermen.
The scores:
San Miguel 113 – Perez 25, Tautuaa 24, Fajardo 20, Romeo 16, Cruz 9, Manuel 7, Lassiter 6, Trollano 5, Ross 1, Enciso 0, Teng 0, Brondial 0.
Terrafirma 110 – Tiongson 24, Go 21, Gomez de Liano 21, Holt 18, Carino 9, Cahilig 6, Sangalang 5, Ramos 4, Alolino 2, Olivario 0, Calvo 0.
Quarters: 24-26; 45-54; 78-75; 113-110.
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