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| Terrence Watson throws down the flush as he impresses in his debut with the San Miguel Beermen. |
By Patrick Sutare
MANILA--Nearing the homestretch of the elimination round in the PBA
Governors’ Cup, San Miguel has appeared to have shifted to its third gear as
the crucial phase of its Grand Slam bid turns up to another level.
The Beermen are used to it, and they simply thrive into it
time and again. After a hard-fought win against Rain or Shine last time out,
the powerhouse squad banked on a sizeable separation in the first three quarters
and a tested composure down the stretch to fend off the then streaking Barangay
Ginebra next, 107-103, on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
SMB wanted nothing short of their high standards, especially
with its pride and a rare feat going on the line. After a flat out underwhelming
showing from Tarik Bridgeman, coach Leo Austria and his wards on the sidelines
would not commit another reinforcement choice blunder.
The feared local group easily jived with its new import
Terrence Watson who was ruthless from all corners, catching the Gin Kings
off-guard and forced them to play the catch-up game for the majority of the joust.
Watson put up 28 points and 17 rebounds to lead the Beermen
who escaped a late Ginebra fightback in the last quarter and move up closer to
seizing out of four twice-to-beat edges in the quarterfinals at 5-3.
SMB allowed 38 points in the fourth quarter against its 20
after leading by 22 after three, 87-65.
Chris Ross picked up where he left off the previous outing
as he continues to go on full offensive aggression approaching the tourney’s
post-season play. A defensive prodigy, Ross was right on the money scoring wise
for the second straight game, pouring in 20 points along with five assists,
four rebounds and four steals.
Arwind Santos was on target as well, steering his team to
the commanding advantage it had in the first half where he fired 16 of his 23
points. Alex Cabagnot, meanwhile, once again lived up to his tag as the ‘’crunch
man’’ as he scored 11 of 16 points in the deciding frame.
Despite the loss, the Barangay stays atop of the ladder at
7-2, albeit sharing the spot with NLEX.
Japeth Aguilar led the team’s scoring with 18 as Justin
Brownlee was held silent all night, scoring just 14 points which is his lowest
output so far in the conference.
Follow him on Twitter: @patricksutare
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