PBA: Chan sinks late trey as Gilas, All-Star selection end exhibition game tied

The PBA All-Star selection saw their eight-point lead disappear in the final two minutes, as Jeff Chan knocked in the game-tying three with 0.6 seconds, remaining to end their exhibition against the Gilas Pilipinas national squad in a tie, 124-124, on Sunday in Digos City, Davao Del Sur. An Arwind Santos high-looper welcomed the last two minutes, putting the PBA selection ahead, 118-110. Gilas milked the line for four, but Beau Belga took two of his own to make it a six-point game. Gary David drove in for a deuce at the other end, only for Alex Cabagnot to counter with a floater with 44 seconds remaining. The national team set David up three tries from beyond the arc, and he hit the last, to cut their deficit to three with 26 seconds to go, 122-119. After a timeout, Jvee Casio was trapped on the sideline, as Jayson Castro took the ball away. KG Canaleta ended up fouling Castro with 14.9 seconds remaining, and the Talk 'N Text guard hit both to make it a one-point affair. Gilas sent Casio to the line quickly, and the Alaska guard sank both for a three-point lead, 124-121. The national squad went to Ranidel De Ocampo for a three, but the ball got wedged between the ring and the backboard. A jumpball ensued with 7.6 remaining, and Santos' tap sent the ball mistakenly to Castro. Gilas called for time with 5.5 seconds to go, and the resulting play saw Tenorio swing the ball to David, who then sent it to Jeff Chan. Chan faked his defender then took off from beyond the arc, tying the game with 0.6 seconds remaining. After a timeout by PBA All-Star selection head coach Luigi Trillo, Cabagnot could not contain Belga's inbound as the final buzzer sounded with the game tied. Arwind Santos and Jeff Chan were named co-MVP's of the game. The PBA selection started out strong, with Arwind Santos hitting seven of the team's first nine to go up, 9-2. Gilas would respond with a 6-1 run, before James Yap and Mark Caguioa were subbed out to rest nagging injuries. A short jumper by Gabe Norwood with 8:24 remaining in the first quarter tied the game, before Santos and Ranidel De Ocampo traded treys. A corner triple by Gabe Norwood gave Gilas the lead, 16-13, but Chris Ellis strung together three points to even it out. A slam by June Mar Fajardo was canceled out by back-to-back threes from KG Canaleta, before Gilas went on a 14-5 run, punctuated by back-to-back hits from Japeth Aguilar. Beau Belga scored five points to end the quarter, while the national team had to settle with a split from Marc Pingris for a 33-31 advantage for Gilas after one. Gilas went on a 9-5 run to start the second period, after a three by Larry Fonacier. The PBA stars went on to counter, as Belga and Marcio Lassiter knocked down treys to tie the game at 44-all. The two teams played tug of war with the lead, as Jayvee Casio scored on a drive for a one-point lead for the PBA squad, 54-53, with 4:53 remaining in the first half. Castro responded with an and-one at the other end, before Fajardo hit one from the line to give Gilas a three-point advantage, 57-54. Casio then went off a screen to can a three, before De Ocampo and Calvin Abueva traded shots. Five straight from De Ocampo and David gave Gilas a more comfortable lead with 1:06 remaining, 64-59, but Santos would score four to end the period, with Casio contributing a pair of free throws to cancel out a Fajardo make. At the end of the half, Gilas found themselves only up by one, 66-65. The PBA All-Stars took the lead at the start of the third, with Abueva and Santos tag-teaming, 71-69. Pingris went on to connect at the other end, but Mark Caguioa hit a three to keep the selection ahead. Fonacier strung six for Gilas, but Cabagnot and Abueva's conversions kept the PBA selection ahead, 80-79, with 5:07 remaining. Turnovers by Gilas led to a Chris Ellis coast-to-coast lay-up, but buckets from Tenorio and David tied the game anew, 85-all. Canaleta rung in the last two minutes with a fadeaway, before Baguio hit a trey for a five-point spread, 90-85. David scored on a drive at the other end, but Canaleta claimed another three with 43 ticks remaining, 93-87. De Ocampo hit a long jumper to respond, only for Cabagnot to end the period with a drive, to keep the PBA selection ahead, 95-89. The scoring started in the fourth with a Pingris split, before Cyrus Baguio and Cabagnot had a 5-0 run on their own for an 11-point lead, 101-90. Castro responded with four points, and Fonacier knocked down a triple to cut the lead to six, 103-97. Santos though stayed aggressive on the offensive boards to earn two free throws. Back-to-back hits by Pingris negated a Baguio drive, before a Santos turnover led to a Fonacier three at the 6:42 mark, 107-103. Belga fished a foul from teammate Norwood for a split at the other end, before Canaleta converted inside after a Gilas turnover. Jayson Castro quickly sprinted to the other side of the court for a layup, but Canaleta split from the line to make it an eight-point spread, 113-105. Tenorio and David cut the lead for Gilas from the free throw line, 113-109. Cabagnot then found teammate Santos for a baseline hit, before trading splits with Thoss from the charity stripe. The PBA selection missed big man Jay Washington, as the Petron Blaze Boosters forward needed to make an emergency trip to the United States. - AMD, GMA News The scores: PBA All-Stars 124 — Santos 27, Canaleta 20, Belga 15, Cabagnot 15, Ellis 9, Baguio 9, Abueva 9, Casio 7, Lassiter 6, Caguioa 3, Yap 2, Gilas Pilipinas 124 — Fonacier 18, David 17, De Ocampo 14, Castro 11, Thoss 11, Tenorio 10, Pingris 10, Castro 10, Fajardo 9, Chan 9, Aguilar 5, Quarter scoring: 31-33, 65-66, 95-89, 124-124.