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| June Mar Fajardo had a monster night for semis-bound San Miguel. PBA Images |
MANILA--San Miguel evaded a monumental collapse in the PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals as late turnovers doomed Converge in a 109-105 decision in the rubber match on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Beermen, who lost a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series and trailed by 12 in the first quarter, got their bearing in the second half as Jericho Cruz's tough defense on the FiberXers in the end forced crucial errors that sealed the game.
With Cruz stymieing him, Alex Cabagnot lost the ball while trying to receive Alec Stockton's inbound pass with 25 seconds left.
Cruz, though, kept the door open for Converge to force overtime as he missed two free throws off a Stockton foul with 17 seconds to go.
Schonny Winston missed a four-point attempt, but Alex Cabagnot grabbed the offensive rebound and passed it to Jalen Jones.
However, Cruz stripped the ball away from Jones and ran the remaining seconds on the clock.
June Mar Fajardo put up a monstrous performance of 40 points on 15-of-27 field goals and 10-of-12 free throws and 24 rebounds along with four assists and one steal for SMB, which will face Ginebra in the best-of-seven semifinals beginning Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
EJ Anosike added 23 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and one block.
Jones had 29 points, 17 rebounds, one assist, and two steals, while Stockton added 22 points, three rebounds, eight assists, one steal, and one block for Converge.
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