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BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Tuesday, June 13, 2017
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MANILA – San Miguel squandered an early 16-point lead before executing a 77-76 victory over Star in Game 2 of the 2017 Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinals last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Import Charles Rhodes led the way with double-double 21 points and 10 rebounds for Beermen to level the series, 1-1. Alex Cabagnot added 13, while June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross chipped in 12, 11 and 10, respectively.
San Miguel started strong on 8 points by Ross to build a 19-8 lead. Hotshots cut the deficit to 7 points but hits by Cabagnot and Fajardo stretched the lead to double figures at the end of the first quarter.
Beermen kept a double-digit advantage in the second quarter with conversions from Lassiter, but Star rallied to within single digits before San Miguel brought it back to 44-30 at the half on inside hits by Fajardo.
San Miguel posted its largest lead in the third frame, 46-30, on a dunk by Rhodes before Star countered with a rally behind Ricardo Ratliffe and Jiovani Jalalon to get ahead, 60-58.
The fourth quarter was a seesaw battle that saw the scores tying at 74. Arwind Santos pushed San Miguel ahead, 77-74, on a triple. Star’s Mark Barroca could have tied the match but failed to complete a 3-point play.
After a Barroca steal, Paul Lee — who struggled for the second straight game with 3 points on 1-of-9 shooting — failed to convert on a floater.
Ratliffe top-scored with double-double 25 points and 35 rebounds, while Jalalon added 18 points for Star, which was on a seven-game win streak dating back the eliminations before bowing to Beermen./PN
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