AFTER guard Alex Cabagnot led them to a scrambling, 111-102, victory over the TNT KaTropa, to move within a win of back-to-back titles, the Beermen go for the championship of the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup 6:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.
San Miguel had to scramble to continue to avoid losing back-to-back games in the conference. They also had to come out of a 15-point hole at halftime to post the come-from-behind victory over the Tropang Texters last Frday.
Cabagnot led San Miguel in point production as he exploded for 28 points. Arwind Santos was close behind with 27 markers of his own.
The Beermen are within a victory of ending a 16-year title drought in this mid-season conference.
San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria said at the post-game interview that he thought the game was lost after TNT posted that huge halftime lead. He added that his wards showed their true character by refusing to give up and coming back to overcome adversity.
Ranidel de Ocampo, Jayson Castro, Kris Rosales, RR Garcia and Ryan Reyes shot the net to shred from outside as they combined for eight three-pointers in the second quarter to lead the Texters to a 61-46 halftime lead.
TNT import Joshua Smith converted four-of-four field goal attempts early on. The Beermen countered by double teaming the big man but paid the price as the TNT gunners went wild from the outside.
The Texters led by just a point, 41-40, when De Ocampo, Rosales and Castro drained consecutive three-pointers to post the 15-point advantage over San Miguel.
The Texters converted 11-of-24 three-point attempts in the first half alone compared to the Beermen who had only three triples.
De Ocampo scored 19 markers, from three three-pointers, in the first half of play.
Santos led the Beermen explosion in the third. He had plenty of help from Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Charles Rhodes as the Beermen completed their scrambling win to post a 3-2 lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven championship.
The Beermen thus bounced back from their 97-102 loss in Game Four despite falling behind 46-61 at the half.
Santos, Lassiter, Cabagnot and Rhodes took care of the scoring as the Beermen overcame the huge deficit. They relied on their own third quarter scoring explosion to overhaul the lead and close the gap.
The Beermen exploded a 20-4 bomb in the third to forge ahead 66-65 by the middle of the third. They protected that lead and eventually held on to a 82-79 advantage at the end of the third period behind the explosive Santos who tallied 14 points in the third alone.