Terrence Romeo completed a four-point play in the most crucial time and San Miguel Beer held off defending champion Barangay Ginebra, 111-102, Friday, Sept. 10 in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University in Bacolor, Pampanga.
Romeo scored off a Scottie Thompson foul before draining the bonus free throw with 1:57 remaining in the fourth quarter that gave the Beermen a 104-97 lead which proved to be a backbreaker for the Gin Kings who tried throughout the contest to erase a 19-point first half deficit.
He would later score a layup off a steal from Stanley Pringle to make it a nine-point lead, 106-97, as the Beermen went on to claim their fifth win in seven matches to gain a share of second place with the idle Meralco Bolts.
It was the second time SMB won against the perceived title contenders in the conference after handing league-leader TNT its first defeat two days ago, 83-67.
The twin wins came after the Beermen’s Bacolor stint started off on a wrong foot when they suffered a shock 110-104 overtime loss to the Terrafirma Dyip.
“After our game against Terrafirma, we don’t know what our opponent is after a week and we’re eager to play. And all of a sudden it was TNT and now Ginebra who're trying to catch up to the kind of level other teams are playing,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
“But we’re so lucky because our team is really solid and they’re really working hard in practice, especially our key players. And they know what’s at stake in this tournament,” added Austria.
Romeo finished with a game-high 29 points with six assists and two steals while Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, CJ Perez and Chris Ross were also key in the Beermen’s victory.
Lassiter had 19 points aided by five triples, Perez posted 14 points, five rebounds and three assists, Santos posted 15 points and Ross added 13 points, three rebounds and four assists while his four steals moved him to fifth on the all-time list surpassing former Purefoods guard Dindo Pumaren.
SMB made 13 of its 18 triples in the first half which led to a commanding 44-25 lead in the second quarter courtesy of Perez.
Ginebra, which fell to 3-4 for seventh place, spent most of the contest trying to narrow the big gap but SMB refused to buckle despite suffering a dip in its three-point accuracy in the second half.
The Gin Kings pulled within two early in the third, 58-56, on a three by LA Tenorio but it took until more than two minutes in the game to put themselves in a good position to tie or take the lead.
Pringle’s two free throws with 2:57 to go cut Ginebra’s deficit to three, 100-97, which set the stage for Romeo’s clutch triple that virtually sealed SMB’s triumph.
Tenorio ended the match with 19 points and 11 assists, passing SMB great and current Ginebra assistant coach Olsen Racela for 10th all-time.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 111 — Romeo 29, Lassiter 19, Santos 15, Perez 14, Ross 13, Fajardo 10, Tautuaa 8, Pessumal 3, Gotladera 0.
GINEBRA 102 — Tenorio 19, Standhardinger 18, Pringle 16, J. Aguilar 15, Thompson 13, Tolentino 8, Caperal 8, Mariano 3, Devance 2, Dillinger 0, Ayaay 0.
Quarters: 28-22, 56-48, 82-74, 111-102.