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| Kim Aurin was all TNT needed in the clutch to beat San Miguel. Peter Baltazar |
BIÑAN—Kim Aurin saved the day for TNT as he initiated a critical eight-point swing that led the team to a 93-89 overtime win against San Miguel in their PBA Governors' Cup duel on Saturday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
With the Tropang 5G down 83-85 with 1:02 to play, they turned to Aurin in the end, first scoring a three-pointer with 47.9 seconds left to retake the lead 86-85.
George King responded with a layup on the other end for the Beermen's last taste of the lead at 87-86 with 35.1 seconds to go.
However, Aurin scored another three-point shot with 25.9 seconds left while drawing a foul from King.
Aurin missed the bonus free throw, but he grabbed the offensive rebound that eventually set up Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson's dagger layup with 10.4 seconds remaining for 91-87 TNT lead.
Paul Varilla intentionally fouled King with 6.4 seconds left to keep him from taking a four-pointer that could force a second overtime.
The gambit worked as King, usually a steady free throw shooter, missed his first charity, forcing him to intentionally miss the second.
Jericho Cruz thought he secured the offensive rebound as he tapped the ball to June Mar Fajardo, but Fajardo did not see the pass, and Rey Nambatac grabbed the defensive board instead.
Nambatac made two free throws off Cruz's foul with 3.2 seconds to go to cap the Tropang 5G's win.
Aurin led TNT, which now won back-to-back games to move up to 3-2 in the standings, with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting including 6-for-10 on threes, eight rebounds, and one steal.
Nambatac added 21 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block, while Hollis-Jefferson, in his comeback game, chipped in 20 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, one steal, and one block.
King had 35 points, 16 rebounds, one assist, two steals, and three blocks for SMB, but he went 1-for-6 from four-point range and committed five turnovers too as his team ended the first round of the group stages at 4-2.
Fajardo added 14 points on 4 of 5 field goals, 12 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, but he too squandered the ball a number of times, four to be exact.
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