Games tomorrow:
(Philsports Arena)
4:30 p.m. — Converge vs Phoenix
7:30 p.m. — Ginebra vs Blackwater
Mo Tautuaa was the man of the hour for defending champion San Miguel Beer.
The bulky big man scored all of the Beermen’s last five points in the tight dogfight to survive a gigantic scare from Terrafirma, 113-110, and remain unbeaten in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Wednesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
San Miguel brushed off a rusty start and fought its way to its fifth win in as many outings all thanks to the late-game heroics of Tautuaa, who had 24 points from 10-of-14 field goal shooting, including 3-of-5 three-point clip, laced with eight rebounds and four assists.
The 34-year-old power forward nailed a triple with 1:34 left in the game to give the Beermen a 111-107 lead.
Isaac Go answered with a trifecta of his own before Tautuaa gave San Miguel more breathing room, 113-110, off a reverse layup with 15.1 seconds left.
The Beermen dodged Go’s last-ditched three-point attempt to send the game to overtime when his shot bounced off the rim and hit the overhead camera attached to the board at the buzzer.
“At the start of the game, we were really relaxed and I was really scared of that. My players thought that Terrafirma was just there but they are not a pushover team anymore. It’s a team that will fight, fight and fight,” San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent said after the Beermen took their first 5-0 start in the All-Filipino conference since 2018.
CJ Perez finished with 25 points to pace San Miguel while June Mar Fajardo recorded his 13th straight double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds laced with six assists, a steal and a block. Terence Romeo had 16 markers.
The Dyip slid to 4-4 slate.
Juami Tiongson had 24 points while Javi Gomez de Liano delivered 21 markers for Terrafirma, which marched into warzone oozing with confidence following its earth-shaking 91-85 victory over powerhouse Barangay Ginebra San Miguel last Sunday.
Go posted a career-high 21 points.
Gallent also praised Tautuaa’s defense in the last play that prevented Tiongson from having a clear look at the basket to heave a triple.
San Miguel almost foiled the Dyip’s last play after Tiongson lost the ball only to be picked by Go, who before his last of 15 three-point shots drained a personal-high seven.
“We just needed a stop in the end and Mo did a great job switching to Juami and defending him well that’s why we won the game,” Gallent said.
Protecting a slim three-point advantage with under two minutes left before halftime, the Dyip zoomed to a 6-0 run capped by a triple by Go with seven seconds left to extend their lead to 54-45 entering the half.
Terrafirma got its game going early in the first half as it built a 19-7 lead after Kemark Carino drilled a trey with 6:13 left in the opening period.
San Miguel retaliated with a 17-7 counterattack to get close within two heading into the second canto.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL (113) — Perez 25, Tautuaa 24, Fajardo 20, Romeo 16, Cruz 9, Manuel 7, Lassiter 6, Trollano 5, Ross 1, Enciso 0, Teng 0.
TERRAFIRMA (110) — Tiongson 24, Go 21, Gomez de Liano 21, Holt 18, Carino 9, Cahilig 6, Sangalang 5, Ramos 4, Alolino 2, Olivario 0, Calvo 0.
QUARTERS: 24-26, 45-54, 78-75, 113-110.
