Reporting note: this article draws on philstar.com; LodiScore provides the summary and editorial framing.
The San Miguel comeback at the Ynares Center in Antipolo turned a game that looked settled into a 135-133 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in PBA Governors' Cup play on Wednesday, and it did so without moving the top of Group A.
NLEX had led by 20, 118-98, with 10:07 left after a basket by Deonte Burton. Both teams closed the eliminations at 9-3, but the Road Warriors keep the top seed because they beat the Beermen in their first-round meeting.
How the San Miguel comeback unfolded
The Beermen worked the deficit down rather than erasing it in a single run. They drew level at 133-all with about 53 seconds remaining on a layup by Trollano, whose 23 points came off the bench.
Robert Bolick missed a layup at the other end, and San Miguel went back to George King. King drove and finished, and Bolick was called for goaltending after pulling on the net, pushing the Beermen ahead, 135-133.
NLEX had one more look. LJ Gonzales got a clean attempt from the corner but it clanged off the rim as the clock ran down.
According to PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III, the 20-point gap is the largest fourth-quarter deficit erased en route to a win since San Miguel surrendered a 21-point lead against the Converge FiberXers in Game 3 of the best-of-five quarterfinals in last season's Governors' Cup.
NLEX still hold Group A's top seed
The standings quirk is the story inside the result. San Miguel produced the more dramatic night, but the tiebreak was already decided by that earlier loss to NLEX, so the Road Warriors' seed was never in danger.
That leaves NLEX, as Group A's top seed, matched against the fourth seed of Group B. San Miguel's playoff opponent depends on how the other group finishes, which is why the Beermen treated the game as a habit-building exercise rather than a bracket calculation.
June Mar Fajardo's 10,000-point night
Fajardo entered the 10,000-point club earlier in the day and finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and three blocks. King led San Miguel with 27 points, nine rebounds, four blocks and three assists, while Marcio Lassiter chipped in 19.
Burton scored 43 for NLEX to go with six rebounds and six blocks. Gonzales and Schonny Winston had 20 points apiece, and Bolick scored 13 on 5-of-6 shooting while handing out a career-best 15 assists.
What Leo Austria said about the playoff picture
Austria framed the win around mentality rather than seeding. "That's why I told the team, let's play to win. Whatever happens, it's not our problem anymore who we will face from the other group," he said.
"Right now, we don't know yet. Maybe Ginebra, maybe Phoenix, we don't know," he added. "What is important is to win a championship. Going to the championship, there's a lot of game plan and strategy from the coaches. What I keep telling the team is, let them have a problem about who they will face. But let us develop this killer instinct."
He said the Beermen found "a sense of urgency" in the fourth quarter and described the result as "a morale booster going to the playoffs."
For NLEX, the loss is a reminder that a 43-point night from Burton and a career-best playmaking game from Bolick can still end in defeat when the final minutes go the other way. The Road Warriors now wait on the Group B bracket; San Miguel wait on everything else.
The original report on this game was published by philstar.com.
