CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter save the day for San Miguel because the defending champions stun Meralco within the dying seconds to tie the PBA Philippine Cup finals at 1-1
MANILA, Philippines – Having two of essentially the most clutch gamers within the PBA is certainly a luxurious San Miguel enjoys.
CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter saved the day for the Beermen because the defending champions surprised Meralco in a nail-biting 95-94 win that tied the PBA Philippine Cup finals at 1-1 on the Araneta Coliseum on Friday, June 7.
Perez and Lassiter every drained an important three-pointer inside the ultimate 25 seconds to assist San Miguel keep away from a precarious 0-2 deficit within the best-of-seven collection.
“Marcio has confirmed himself, CJ has confirmed himself. Now, they only proved themselves once more that they’re clutch gamers, that they’ll shoot the three when it issues essentially the most,” stated Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent.
The Bolts had been on their method to going up 2-0 within the collection after seizing a 93-89 lead off a Chris Banchero triple with 25 seconds left solely to fizzle out.
Off a timeout, Perez sank his fifth and ultimate trey of the sport to chop their deficit to 92-93 earlier than Lassiter knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer for the ultimate tally as San Miguel capitalized on Banchero splitting his free throws.
Banchero nonetheless received a crack on the potential game-winner however missed his layup.
“Once we want baskets, we’re not hesitant to go to [CJ] and Marcio,” stated Gallent. “We’re not hesitant to allow them to shoot the ball, particularly coming crunch time.”
Perez completed with a playoff career-high 34 factors on prime of 5 steals, 5 assists, and 4 rebounds as he took issues into his personal palms, trying a season-high 28 discipline targets.
Regardless of being on assault mode from begin to end, Perez nonetheless shot a decent 42% from the sector and 45% from past the arc.
“As I all the time say, it won’t be excellent. If I miss, I’ll shoot once more. Individuals say I’m a ball hog. However I’m actually a ball hog,” stated Perez in Filipino. “I’m simply making an attempt to assist my group. Each sport, I give my 110 p.c.”
However when the Beermen wanted him to defer to his teammates, Perez did so selflessly as he assisted Lassiter for the shot that allowed San Miguel to beat Meralco for the primary time this convention.
June Mar Fajardo submitted 17 factors, 13 rebounds, and three blocks, whereas Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa added 12 and 10 factors, respectively, within the victory.
Cliff Hodge carried the scoring load for the Bolts with a season-high 25 factors, however his efficiency went down the drain as Meralco continued its development of dropping Recreation 2 in a best-of-seven collection after profitable Recreation 1.
Banchero tallied 16 factors and 4 assists, whereas Chris Newsome posted 14 factors, 6 rebounds, and 5 assists within the dropping effort.
The Scores
San Miguel 95 – Perez 34, Fajardo 17, Trollano 12, Tautuaa 10, Cruz 7, Lassiter 6, Ross 5, Brondial 2, Teng 2, Enciso 0
Meralco 94 – Hodge 25, Banchero 16, Newsome 14, Quinto 9, Maliksi 8, Rios 6, Bates 6, Torres 5, Caram 3, Pascual 2, Almazan 0, Jose 0.
Quarters: 21-22, 49-48, 69-73, 95-94.
– Rappler.com
