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| PBA |
By Jason Espiritu
QUEZON CITY-- Top-seeded San Miguel overturned a nine-point deficit and came from behind thanks to Chris Ross as they ousted Star from the Commissioners' Cup, 103-99, in their do-or-die quarterfinals match at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday night.
The Philippine Cup Finals MVP made his heroic in the final minute, as he scored the last four points, breaking a 99-all deadlock to punch their ticket to the semifinals to finish with 13 points.
Tyler Wilkerson bounced back from a so-so Game 2 with a bang by firing in 46 markers.
Marcio Lassiter backed up Wilkerson and Ross with 17 markers and Arwind Santod had ten points and four blocks for Coach Leo Austria.
Ricardo Ratcliffe finished his stint for Coach Jason Webb with a double-double of 24 points and 16 boards. PJ Simon had 21 markers and Marc Pingris chipped in 18 points and 8 boards.
The eighth-seeded Hotshots gave a great account of themselves, leading most of the game. They even held multiple double-digit leads in the first half and at the start of the payoff period.
Simon and Allein Maliksi again led the charge at the opening canto, hitting perimeter shots after shots. Ratcliffe and Pingris held down the fort underneath as Star came out hot with a 28-21 lead after the 1st quarter.
Wilkerson kept San Miguel afloat in the 1st half scoring 16 in the 1st and 15 in the 2nd quarter. Chris Ross starred with Wilkerson in the 2nd quarter to cut the lead to a single basket 54-52 at the break.
Things got a little heated when Maliksi was called for a flagrant one and Ross with a technical foul early in the third that seemed to energize Star and gave them the boost as they start pushing the pace with Barroca leading the charge.
Star Hotshots posted a 74-66 after the scuffle and continued their run to 85-74 lead. Alex Mallari scored 7 points in that stretch after not playing in game 1 and in the 1st half of game 2 as Star erected a 9-point lead entering the payoff period 87-78.
Wilkerson and Arwind Santos led the charge early in the 4th. They helped San Miguel close the gap to 90-93. Both teams executed and scored buckets to a 97-deadlock with 3.42 remaining in the game.
Ian Sangalang and June Mar Fajardo exchange undergoal stabs to setup a great finish 99-apiece under 3 minutes left in the game.
Then Ross took over in the final minute. Diving for a loose ball, hitting a tough floater over Ratcliffe, stole a baseline pass, and hitting crucial free throws to put SMB ahead by with 28 seconds left as the Beermen survived a potential collapse and will face Rain or Shine in the semifinals.
SCORES:
San Miguel 103–Wilkerson 46, Lassiter 17, Ross 13, Santos 10, Fajardo 9, Espinas 8, Cabagnot 0, Tubid 0, David 0
Star 99–Ratliffe 24, Simon 21, Pingris 18, Mallari 10, Maliksi 9, Barroca 8, Melton 5, Sangalang 4, Reavis 0
Quarterscores: 21-29, 52-54, 78-87, 103-99
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