The San Miguel Ginebra quarterfinal is going at least one more game. San Miguel held off Barangay Ginebra, 101-98, in Game 3 of their PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup quarterfinal series at the City of Dasmariñas Arena in Cavite on Tuesday night.
The Beermen avoided a sweep and now trail 2-1 in the best-of-five series. Game 4 is set for Friday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum, where San Miguel can tie the series at two games apiece.
San Miguel Ginebra quarterfinal
San Miguel led 54-46 at halftime after building a 52-37 cushion with 1:40 left in the second quarter, then took a 79-74 edge into the fourth. Ginebra erased as much as a 15-point deficit and got within a point several times, the last at 99-98 on RJ Abarrientos' corner triple with 1:04 remaining.
The quarterscores were 23-18, 54-46, 79-74, 101-98.
CJ Perez and the final minute
Perez hit both free throws with 17.4 seconds left to make it 101-98. Ginebra's last possession produced nothing: Scottie Thompson missed a triple and Abarrientos came up short from four-point distance as the buzzer sounded.
Perez finished with 16 points, six rebounds and five assists, though the box score lists him with 14 points.
June Mar Fajardo perfect from the field
Fajardo scored 18 points on 7-of-7 shooting and pulled down 13 rebounds. He also knocked in a rare three-pointer in the first quarter to tie the game at 15 — the 31st triple of his career, according to league stats chief Fidel Mangonon III.
George King and Marcio Lassiter
Import George King led San Miguel with 21 points on 22 shots and 13 rebounds. His second and final three-pointer pushed the lead to 97-90 with 3:40 to play.
Marcio Lassiter added 13 points, hitting a field goal for the first time in the series after going 0-for-12 across the first two games.
Ginebra's comeback falls short
Abarrientos led Ginebra with 21 points and six rebounds. Isaac Go added 17 on 7-of-10 shooting, including 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Jordan Murphy was held to 17 points after averaging 31.0 in the first two games, but still had 17 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. Thompson finished with 14 points on 5-of-15 shooting and 2-of-6 from the line, plus seven rebounds, eight assists and three steals. Jeremiah Gray added 13.
Leo Austria on surviving
"First of all, thank God for this win. We thought we'd have an early vacation," coach Leo Austria said.
"Hopefully, there will be a Game Five."
"Everybody was on the same page."
"And everybody understood each other. And that's one thing. I'm so thankful because the players really responded. They knew our back was against the wall."
Analysis: what Game 4 hinges on
This is analysis, not reported fact. San Miguel won with King needing 22 shots for 21 points and with Murphy kept far below the 31.0 scoring average he carried into the game. Whether those two numbers repeat on Friday is the clearest swing factor in the series.
The original report is from tiebreakertimes.com.ph.
