MANILA – San Miguel Beermen rode on another fourth quarter surge to defeat TNT Tropang 5G, 105-91, in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Ilonggo Jericho Cruz spearheaded the offense with 23 points, with 15 coming in the fourth quarter, to go with three rebounds, one assist, and a steal as the Beermen took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven title series.
“Ang sabi lang sa amin na every time na pumasok kami sa laro, we just put in our head na parang last game na namin, sinabihan lang din nila ako na laruin lang ‘yung laro ko at huwag pansinin ‘yung sinasabi ng iba,” Cruz said.
Jaymar Perez added 16 markers. Best Player of the Conference winner June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Celedonio Trollano and Marcio Lassiter ended with 11 and 10, respectively, for the Beermen.
Down 64-67 after three quarters, the Beermen kicked off the final quarter with conversions from Fajardo, Cruz, and Moala Tautuaa as they took a 76-72 lead on a Cruz three-pointer.
The Tropang 5G were still hanging around at 77-78 before Cruz knocked down back-to-back triples, followed by inside hits from Fajardo, and conversions from Perez to stretch it to 92-82.
“The biggest factor is the first game and it fueled our grit. Talagang makikita mo in their eyes that they want to win,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria. “We had a bad start today, but the bench provided the energy. Very infectious.”
“We were able to tie the game and get the lead, and from there, ‘yung energy namin naging aggressive sila, and then nakita nila the chance is there kahit na bad start. ‘Yun ‘yung sinasabi ko sa kanila, ‘yung killer instinct,” he added.
Jordan Heading paced the Tropang 5G with 23 points, Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser added 14 markers apiece, while Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana tallied 11 each./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 105 – Cruz 23, Perez 16, Fajardo 15, Trollano 11, Lassiter 10, Tiongson 8, Ross 7, Teng 6, Tautuaa 4, Calma 3, Brondial 2, Cahilig 0.
TNT 91 – Heading 23, Williams 14, Ganuelas-Rosser 14, Pogoy 11, Oftana 11, Khobuntin 7, Erram 6, Vosotros 3, Nieto 2, Aurin 0, Heruela 0.
Quarterscores: 21-23, 45-37, 64-67, 105-91.
