MANILA: No import? No problem for San Miguel Beer.
With June Mar Fajardo turning in mammoth numbers befitting his huge frame, the Beermen on Wednesday night trimmed Alaska, 106-103, to barge into the quarterfinals of the season-ending PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth and got a lot of help from the Beermen’s star-studded local roster as San Miguel came roaring back from 11 points down to turn back the Aces and jack up their record to 5-2, again tied with idle Mahindra and sister team Barangay Ginebra.
But coach Leo Austria refused to attribute the win solely on the efforts of the reigning two-time MVP, as Alex Cabagnot drilled in two straight triples to shove the Beermen ahead, and Chris Ross blocked LeDontae Henton’s potential overtime-forging three-point try in the waning seconds.
“This was a huge, huge game for us,” Austria told reporters. “The good thing (playing) without an import is that the whole team is challenged. We don’t necessarily have to rely on one man, we rely on the whole team.”
Alaska lost for the fifth time in seven games and kissed its top four aspirations goodbye, blowing command in the final five minutes of the fourth period after holding several 11-point leads.
Henton scored 45 points for the Aces, his last basket with 31.7 seconds remaining tying the game for the last time at 103.
San Miguel played without the prolific Arizona Reid, who reportedly has a leg injury though conflicting reports before the game said that the former two-time Best Import was fired for conduct unbecoming.
Reid watched the game, but a replacement, plus an Asian import, will reportedly plane in on Friday in time for the Beermen’s next game the following week.
Fajardo, meanwhile, ably filled up the void after also collaring 14 rebounds and having three blocks. Four others tossed in twin digits for Austria, with Cabagnot finishing with 17.
And while the Beermen got the goods from a big man, Meralco got the lift it needed from 6-foot point guard Baser Amer in the final 2:11 that keyed a 101-96 nipping of sister team NLEX in the first game.
“This was a really good team effort on our part today,” Black said after the Bolts also marched safely in the quarterfinals of the season-closing conference.
“We got a lot of contributions from a lot of people,” the Grand Slam-winning coach went on. “We really showed we are a team in this game.”
Black did get six players in twin digits, but got the biggest buckets from the rookie Amer, with the former San Beda ace in the NCAA shooting seven straight points that put the game away for Meralco.
A point guard whom Black put back in after Meralco had lost a second local slotman with 2:11 left and the game still very much in the balance, Amer hit a triple, two free throws and a devil-may-care layup that had the Bolts zooming to a 97-90 lead heading into the final 33.5.
The win was the second straight in a 5-3 card for the Bolts, who moved into solo fifth place as the race for twice-to-beat privilege is expected to hit a frenetic pace.
Tournament format calls for the top four teams after the classification phase to earn twice-to-beat privileges in the first round, the quarterfinals, a huge advantage considering how balanced the teams are on paper.
The loss was the fourth in seven games for the Road Warriors, who saw an end to a two-game winning streak and their chances of landing in the top four don’t necessarily rest on their hands with just four games left in their elimination schedule.
Idle TNT KaTropa continues to set the pace with a 6-0 record, with surprising Mahindra and crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra sharing second place at the moment with 5-2 cards.
“It was a really hard-fought game,” Black said after import Allen Durham, who he described as a “thoroughbred” two games into the conference, scored 31 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Among the starters for the Bolts, it was only Amer who failed to finish in twin digits as Brian Faundo scattered 10, Cliff Hodge chipping in with 17, and fellow rookie Chris Newsome shooting 12.
But Amer’s baskets in the clutch were simply the biggest of the night.
Amer saw action for close to 24 minutes and turned what would have been a very forgettable night into a memorable one.
The 6-foot guard played a lot of minutes because the Bolts chose to rest a slightly injured Jimmy Alapag in preparation for the playoffs. Alapag watched the game in civilian clothes because of a pulled calf muscle.
“We want to save Jimmy and his leadership for the playoffs,” Black said.
With June Mar Fajardo turning in mammoth numbers befitting his huge frame, the Beermen on Wednesday night trimmed Alaska, 106-103, to barge into the quarterfinals of the season-ending PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo scored 16 of his 37 points in the fourth and got a lot of help from the Beermen’s star-studded local roster as San Miguel came roaring back from 11 points down to turn back the Aces and jack up their record to 5-2, again tied with idle Mahindra and sister team Barangay Ginebra.
But coach Leo Austria refused to attribute the win solely on the efforts of the reigning two-time MVP, as Alex Cabagnot drilled in two straight triples to shove the Beermen ahead, and Chris Ross blocked LeDontae Henton’s potential overtime-forging three-point try in the waning seconds.
“This was a huge, huge game for us,” Austria told reporters. “The good thing (playing) without an import is that the whole team is challenged. We don’t necessarily have to rely on one man, we rely on the whole team.”
Alaska lost for the fifth time in seven games and kissed its top four aspirations goodbye, blowing command in the final five minutes of the fourth period after holding several 11-point leads.
Henton scored 45 points for the Aces, his last basket with 31.7 seconds remaining tying the game for the last time at 103.
San Miguel played without the prolific Arizona Reid, who reportedly has a leg injury though conflicting reports before the game said that the former two-time Best Import was fired for conduct unbecoming.
Reid watched the game, but a replacement, plus an Asian import, will reportedly plane in on Friday in time for the Beermen’s next game the following week.
Fajardo, meanwhile, ably filled up the void after also collaring 14 rebounds and having three blocks. Four others tossed in twin digits for Austria, with Cabagnot finishing with 17.
And while the Beermen got the goods from a big man, Meralco got the lift it needed from 6-foot point guard Baser Amer in the final 2:11 that keyed a 101-96 nipping of sister team NLEX in the first game.
“This was a really good team effort on our part today,” Black said after the Bolts also marched safely in the quarterfinals of the season-closing conference.
“We got a lot of contributions from a lot of people,” the Grand Slam-winning coach went on. “We really showed we are a team in this game.”
Black did get six players in twin digits, but got the biggest buckets from the rookie Amer, with the former San Beda ace in the NCAA shooting seven straight points that put the game away for Meralco.
A point guard whom Black put back in after Meralco had lost a second local slotman with 2:11 left and the game still very much in the balance, Amer hit a triple, two free throws and a devil-may-care layup that had the Bolts zooming to a 97-90 lead heading into the final 33.5.
The win was the second straight in a 5-3 card for the Bolts, who moved into solo fifth place as the race for twice-to-beat privilege is expected to hit a frenetic pace.
Tournament format calls for the top four teams after the classification phase to earn twice-to-beat privileges in the first round, the quarterfinals, a huge advantage considering how balanced the teams are on paper.
The loss was the fourth in seven games for the Road Warriors, who saw an end to a two-game winning streak and their chances of landing in the top four don’t necessarily rest on their hands with just four games left in their elimination schedule.
Idle TNT KaTropa continues to set the pace with a 6-0 record, with surprising Mahindra and crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra sharing second place at the moment with 5-2 cards.
“It was a really hard-fought game,” Black said after import Allen Durham, who he described as a “thoroughbred” two games into the conference, scored 31 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Among the starters for the Bolts, it was only Amer who failed to finish in twin digits as Brian Faundo scattered 10, Cliff Hodge chipping in with 17, and fellow rookie Chris Newsome shooting 12.
But Amer’s baskets in the clutch were simply the biggest of the night.
Amer saw action for close to 24 minutes and turned what would have been a very forgettable night into a memorable one.
The 6-foot guard played a lot of minutes because the Bolts chose to rest a slightly injured Jimmy Alapag in preparation for the playoffs. Alapag watched the game in civilian clothes because of a pulled calf muscle.
“We want to save Jimmy and his leadership for the playoffs,” Black said.
