He has all the reasons to do so, especially after his
Beermen withstood the best that Barangay Ginebra could offer to move within
another victory of clinching a spot in the best-of-seven title series for the
PBA Philippine Cup.
The Beermen made all the right moves on both ends
Wednesday night to repulse the Gin Kings, 108-104, in double overtime as
Agustin got almost everyone to chip in their share before another huge Araneta
Coliseum crowd that backed Ginebra all game.
"If we continue to play this way, we will make the
championship (series)," Agustin told reporters in Filipino after Jay
Washington led the Beermen with 19 points and a career-high 20 rebounds in 54
minutes.
"We're going to need to tough it out again on
Friday," Washington said. "It won't be easy. Ginebra won't give it to
us, that's for sure." Ginebra certainly did not give Game 4 to the
Beermen, but there were several glaring lapses in the Kings' game in the
stretch that certainly helped their demise.
The Kings were held to just a single free throw in the
final 2:03 of regulation to easily lose a 93-89 lead with Danny Ildefonso
forging the first extension with a short stab with 16 seconds left after a
brilliant set up by Alex Cabagnot.
Talk 'N Text, another powerhouse side like San Miguel,
also moved within another win of sealing a projected title clash with the
Beermen after taking a 97-83 victory over Derby Ace for a 3-2 lead in their
series.
The Tropang Texters came back from a 14-30 deficit late
in the first quarter before outscoring the defending champion Llamados 77-52 in
the final three periods to post the rout.
"At least our defense improved significantly in the
last three quarter," Talk 'N Text coach Chot Reyes said. "We need to
find a way to play this kind of defense on Friday to wrap it all up.
"But if they (Llamados) shoot that way (like in the
first quarter) for four quarters (on Friday), it will be very tough to beat
them," Reyes continued. "Hopefully, we would be in better shape than
them. Hopefully we would have the fresher legs." Jason Castro scored all
of his 22 points in the final three quarters, Ali Peek had 14 of his 16 in the
middle two periods and the Texters' stingy defense bottled up Derby Ace's top
guns to move on the threshold of making the title playoffs.
James Yap led the Llamados with 24 points, but was good
for only two in the fourth quarter as he struggled to keep Derby Ace in the
contest.
Alex Cabagnot was again a big figure for the Beermen,
tossing in 17 points and figuring in most of the critical plays in the stretch.
The long-haired point guard, who won three games with
last-second shots for the Beermen in this tournament, had two fine passes to
Danny Ildefonso, the first sending the game into its first overtime at 94.
Ildefonso then sealed the deal with 2:26 left in the
second overtime after getting another Cabagnot pass and converting it with a
reverse layup for 106-99.
"That connection (with Ildefonso) has been working
and he looked open," Cabagnot said.
San Miguel's defense also worked as the Beermen held the
Gin Kings to a single free throw inside the final 2:03 before allowing
Ginebra's first basket in the second overtime only at the final 1:38 mark.
Ginebra missed a huge chunk of its free throw attempts in
the stretch, two by Mark Caguioa and four by Jay-Jay Helterbrand. Rudy
Hatfield, who finished with just two points after scoring 16 in Game 3, also
had two misses and finished with just two points.
"We're fighting them neck-and-neck the whole game. I
thought we should have won in regulation but things happen," Ginebra coach
Jong Uichico said. "I commend the effort of the players but we have to
play smarter the next time (Game 5)." The potential series-clinching
victories for both the Texters and the Beermen are scheduled Friday also at the
Big Dome.
