MANILA: Staring elimination in the face, Burger King refused to die banking on the heroics of Wynne Arboleda last night to score a 103-90 victory over San Miguel that cut the Beermen’s lead to 3-2 in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup best-of-seven semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.
Barangay Ginebra won against Rain or Shine for the second straight game. Ginebra’s 96-85 triumph gave the Kings a 3-2 lead in the other semifinal series.
Arboleda delivered at an opportune time, giving Burger King a new lease of life after San Miguel entered the game looking to close out the series.
Arboleda, averaging only 7.6 points a game in the tournament, knocked in five triples and 23 points, spearheading a determined Burger King stand that, in the end, kept the Whoppers in chase of a return stint in the reinforced conference finals.
Shawn Daniels, Gary David and Egay Billones were also key factors as the Whoppers survived a big test in this contest, foiling the Beermen’s first of three cracks at a seat in the best-of-seven title playoffs.
“We’re most vulnerable in this game because we’re playing minus three players (JR Quinahan, Mark Yee and Cholo Villanueva) and we’re coming off a game where we bungled a won game,” said Burger King coach Yeng Guiao.
“But there’s no way the guys would give up and would feel the series would end today. They’re upbeat in practice and in the dugout before the game. That’s a good sign to start the game,” Guiao added.
Overcoming a tough adversity in Game 5, Guiao said, would only make them a better team in Game 6.
“We’re not looking at the odds. We’re not even asking ourselves what the chances are. The important thing is for us to extend it to Sunday. With three guys coming back, we’ll have better chances of winning in Game Six,” said Guiao.
After battling the Beermen through 11 deadlocks and nine lead changes in the first half, the Whoppers got to make a decisive move, establishing control in the third period and going on to score a second win in the series.
Daniels came through with another solid all-round game with 15 rebounds, 12 points and six assists, David contributed 17 points and Billones put in 11 points, two rebounds and one assist.
The Kings established control early and sustained the charge, making it two in a row versus the Elasto Painters to move a win shy of a return stint in the reinforced conference finale.
“It’s really been a tough series. Hopefully, we’ve got the right attitude how to deal with this team and we can pull it through Sunday,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.
