San Miguel Beer denied TNT Tropang Giga a victory celebration last night as the Beermen won Game 6, 114-96, in their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup title series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Playing on a must-win mode, the Beermen banked on their fiery outside shooting to keep their title hopes alive and force a thrilling do-or-die Game 7 on Sunday at the Big Dome.
Marcio Lassiter and Simon Enciso conducted an impressive three-point clinic as they rifled in 22 and 20 points, highlighting San Miguel’s well-oiled offense and 50 percent accuracy from the field.
CJ Perez also bounced back from his lackluster showing in the past, churning out 20 markers, four rebounds and three assists, followed by Moala Tautuaa’s 15 points and eight boards.
Jericho Cruz wound up with 11 markers, while June Mar Fajardo tallied another double-double game of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
“I want everybody to be involved, especially our shooters. That’s what happened tonight,” San Miguel tactician Leo Austria said.
“It was important that they had a good rest, maybe that’s why we got lucky. That’s what I’ve been waiting for, for everybody to click.”
Lassiter sizzled early, sparkling in a 40-point opening quarter before Enciso backstopped his efforts with five straight triples to build a 56-30 lead midway through the second quarter.
Despite lacking offensive support, Roger Pogoy still pulled the Tropang Giga to a respectable distance before Poy Erram converted a tip-in to make it a 67-58 affair.
It was the closest that TNT could reach as Jericho Cruz anchored a 16-4 splurge before Tautuaa hammered a two-handed slam that gave them a massive lead of 29, 100-71, with 9:58 still left to play.
Mikey Williams suffered his worst finals performance, finishing only with two points and two assists on an atrocious 1-of-13 clip.
Pogoy led all Tropang Giga with 31 points and three rebounds as TNT had an ice-cold 8-of-35 shooting beyond the arc.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL (114) — Lassiter 22, Perez 20, Enciso 20, Tautuaa 15, Cruz 11, Fajardo 10, Brondial 6, Manuel 5, Ross 3, Pessumal 2, Canete 0, Herndon 0, Zamar 0, Faundo 0.
TNT (96) — Pogoy 31, Tungcab 12, Rosario 10, Montalbo 8, K.Williams 8, Marcelo 5, Banal 3, Cruz 3, M.Williams 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0.
QUARTERS: 40-24, 63-50, 92-68, 114-96.
