San Miguel Beer is a proud ball club which won't just fade away in a battle.
The Beermen fought with great resolve with their one foot in the grave,
stalling the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 98-84, and forging a deciding Game
Seven in their Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference title showdown at the Araneta
Coliseum Wednesday night.
Gabe Freeman and his teammates frustrated the Kings and their huge throngs,
pulling off an emphatic win to bring the best-of-seven series to full
distance.
One goes home with the championship and the other the runner-up trophy as
the two teams clash in a do-or-die setto at 7 p.m. Friday in the same venue.
Ginebra has a perfect record in two Game Seven engagements. San Miguel, on
the other hand, is 2-4, losing their last three outings.
"We haven't done anything yet because we just tied the series. God put us in
the situation to test us. It's how we respond to adversity. That would
define us as an individual and as a team," said San Miguel coach Siot
Tanquingcen.
"It didn't happen tonight and we now have to do it Friday. It's a jump ball.
A 50-50 percent chance of winning isn't bad at all," said Ginebra coach Jong
Uichico.
The Beermen battled with a resolute defense and a massive offense as they
seized control in the second period and held on to the finish.
"Hindi sila maka-convert and we really had a hand in practically all their
shots. It boiled down to defense and rebounding tonight," said Tanquingcen.
"Plain and simple, we failed to convert our shots," said Uichico.
Freeman went 9-of-13 from the field and finished with 24 points and 12
rebounds for his 21st triple-double game -- the most by any player in the
tourney.
Making the job easier for the Beermen was Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez,
Dondon Hontiveros, Jonas Villanueva, Jay Washington, Marc Pingris and Mick
Pennisi all rising to the occasion.
The Beermen shot better from the field and dominated the boards as they got
back at the Kings for the third time, thus, preserving the yours-and-mind
trend in the series.
The Kings shot only 39.7 percent from the field with main man Jayjay
Helterbrand among those doing bad, going 0-of-5 from the three-point arc and
4-of-5 from the two-point zone.
The Beermen cut loose from a see-sawing contest towards the end of the first
half, racing to a 13-point lead before settling for a 44-34 spread at the
turn.
The two teams both came out playing with great determination, fighting
through nine lead changes before the Beermen established control.
Hontiveros sank two triples, highlighting a 16-2 salvo that opened a 44-31
advantage for the Beermen.
Sunday Salvacion made it a more manageable deficit for the Kings as he
rifled in a trey coming off the bench in the closing seconds of the first
half.
The Kings were ahead at 29-28 before going on a dry spell, making only five
points in the last five minutes of the opening half.
The Beermen broke away while shooting 47.4 percent in the second period. The
Kings, on the other hand, struggled with a 28.6-percent clip in that
stretch.
SMB closed the half with a spirited run despite Freeman on the bench with
three fouls.
Freeman, however, had his hand as the Beermen stretched their lead to 15 at
61-46 midway through the third. The fiery SMB import tossed in 12 points in
the period, including seven straight through a three-pointer and
back-to-back slams.
The scores:
San Miguel 98 - Freeman 24, Ildefonso 18, Cortez 12, Hontiveros 11,
Villanueva 9, Washington 8, Pingris 6, Pennisi 5, Pena 3, Racela 2, Custodio
0.
Ginebra 84 - Noel 16, Menk 15, Tubid 13, Pacana 9, Helterbrand 8, Wilson 7,
Salvacion 6, Reavis 6, Lanete 2, Baguio 2, Artadi 0, Mamaril 0.
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