JV Casio knocked in a scoop shot with 9.3 seconds left to play, and the Nationals succeeded in coming back from 23 points down in a stunning 98-97 win over Powerade to officially clinch a berth in the playoffs of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
“This game showed that the team has a lot of quality players outside of Marcus,” said Smart-Gilas head coach Rajko Toroman. “Marcus really makes a big impact, but this game will make everybody understand that our advantage is not just Marcus.”
Casio provided the kind of quality and toughness against tremendous odds, hitting the biggest shot of the night after breaking through two Powerade defenders before driving and suspending himself in the air against the outstretched arms of Francis Allera.
Powerade had a pair of open looks at the basket but bungled both.
Import Martin Zeno missed a turn-around jumper before Allera, recovering the loose ball after Japeth Aguilar lost possession of the rebound, muffed a point-blank follow-up as time expired.
“These kids know how to play,” Toroman said. “You saw the great games of Casio, (Marcio) Lassiter and (Chris) Lutz.”
But while the guest ball club formally advanced to the next round, it was the other way around for San Miguel Beer.
The 18-time champion franchise was officially booted out from the playoff race, beaten by sister team Derby Ace in a game that went into overtime, 93-88.
PJ Simon scored five of his 26 points in extra time, and Marc Pingris converted three charities in the final 20.6 seconds as the Llamados picked up their fourth win in eight games but dealt a heavy blow on a team that will not see action in the quarterfinals for the first time since the 2005 Fiesta Conference.
The Beermen, losing finalists the past two tournaments, suffered their sixth straight loss and seventh overall with only a win to show, eliminating them from the playoff picture they have been a part of the last 11 conferences.
The trade that sent veteran players Dondon Hontiveros, Danny Seigle, Dorian Pena and Paul Artadi to Air21 might have been largely the reason why San Miguel lost its sting. It wasn’t able to cope up with the chemistry problems brought in by newcomers Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra, and the Beermen somehow got disheartened by the swap everyone thought SMB was at the losing end.
Yet they gave it all in their penultimate game of the conference, sending the game into overtime after import David Young, who failed to steer the franchise to a single win since replacing Ira Brown, connected on a basket with 29.4 seconds to go. The Beermen still had a chance after Al-Hussaini came to within 89-88 with 44.4 seconds remaining in the extra period but couldn’t convert any field goal from there.
“We missed crucial baskets but what mattered was that we made the stops in the end,” said Derby Ace coach Jorge Gallent.
The victory also came as a fitting reward for Kerby Raymundo, who became the 63rd player in PBA history to be a part of the 5,000 points club.
Casio finished with 29 points, Lassiter had 21 and Chris Lutz contributed 10 for Smart-Gilas, which will now aim to accomplish the next big mission – securing one of two outright berths in the semi-finals. Aguilar submitted 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
Douthit, who has averaged 20.5 points and conference-highs of 17.5 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game, suited up but was never fielded. He suffered a sprained left ankle in the third quarter during Smart-Gilas’ game against Derby Ace, a 98-90 overtime loss.
But what made the victory even more shocking was that the Nationals had to claw their way back from a 23-point (40-17) deficit early in the second period.
Smart-Gilas came to within 55-42 at halftime before outscoring the Tigers, 34-16, in the third to seize a 76-71 lead going into the final quarter.
“They (Tigers) defended box-in-one, diamond-and-two, man-to-man and a little zone,” Toroman said. “Our big guys didn’t react well but the guys picked up the rhythm and played well. We reacted well in the end and I’m really satisfied.”
The end really was the time when the Nationals did shine.
Lassiter had a five-point swing to tie the count at 91-91, and Chris Tiu, his left shoulder hurt on a pick in an earlier play, connected on a three-point shot with 36.8 seconds to go to push the Nationals on top, 96-95.
Import Martin Zeno then had a chance to put the Tigers ahead by two, converting on a basket with a foul to boot from Aldrich Ramos. But he missed the bonus charity for a 97-96 lead.
The Tigers are now virtually out of the running in the race for six slots in the playoffs. Powerade has never seen action in the playoffs the last five conferences.
