MANILA – San Miguel Beermen survived a last-minute run by Magnolia Hotshots to escape with an 84-80 win in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven Finals on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After its 82-75 lead got whittled down to 82-80 with conversions from Hotshots’ Ian Sangalang, Beermen got a steal from Andy Mark Barroca that led to two free throws from Arwind Santos and raised the lead 84-80 with 2.2 seconds left.
Alex Cabagnot led the way with 26 points while Marcio Lassiter chipped in with 18 markers for Beermen, which moved closer to its fourth straight All-Filipino title with its 3-1 series lead.
June Mar Fajardo – who was handed his sixth PBA Best Player of the Conference trophy – had double-double 16 points and 13 rebounds while Santos had 13 markers and 11 boards for Beermen.
“These players showed the heart of a champion. They know how to win,” Beermen head coach Leo Austria said.
Hotshots had a strong start in the opening period behind Rome dela Rosa for a 20-14 lead. This grew to as high as 9 points but Beermen rallied back behind Cabagnot to cut the deficit 45-46 at the half.
Hotshots continued to hang on to the lead early in the third period after back-to-back treys from Barroca but Beermen snatched the lead 69-64 on consecutive outside shots from Lassiter and Santos.
Beermen pulled to a 71-64 lead early in the fourth after an inside basket by Fajardo but Hotshots rallied to within 74-77 on baskets from Sangalang. A triple by Lassiter and two free throws from Cabagnot gave Beermen an 82-77 lead with under two minutes in the game.
Sangalang led the way with double-double 22 points and 11 rebounds while dela Rosa and Barroca had 15 and 14 points, respectively, for Hotshots. Veteran Paul Lee was a disappointment anew with just 9 points on 4-of-15 shooting./PN
