PBA: Injury-hit San Miguel Beermen hang on against Barako Bull in OT

(Updated 8:11pm) The San Miguel Beermen bucked injuries to Chris Ross and June Mar Fajardo to edge Barako Bull Energy 115-112 in overtime, Wednesday at the Alonte Sports Arena in Binan, Laguna, in the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup.

San Miguel (3-1) won despite playing without Marcio Lassiter, who wounded his leg during their Monday game at the Mall of Asia Arena, an injury which required 13 stitches to close the wound. The Beermen have won two straight to move to second in the standings, while the Energy (1-3) have lost three in a row.

Former NBA player Reggie Williams was named Player of the Game, compiling 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

The game got off to a fast start as both teams got out into the open court and easily scored at the rack. The Beermen spread their scoring amongst their starting unit, while Jeric Fortuna nailed three triples to give the Energy a boost. Barako Bull tied the score at 12-12 but never led, and settled for a 32-26 deficit after the first quarter.

The Energy found some extra points off turnovers during the second quarter, getting contributions from Dave Marcelo and Carlo Lastimosa to move the offense along. San Miguel leaned on their size to keep Barako Bull at bay. However, they would not be kept down for long as Keith Jensen and Mick Pennisi's outside shooting helped Barako Bull make a 13-7 push to close the half, making it just a 58-54 tally in the Beermen's favor.


Fajardo scored seven points before rolling his left ankle and leaving midway through the third quarter, 67-66, with the Beermen barely in control. Barako Bull's Eric Wise, who already had eight points in the period before Fajardo left, was mostly silent until the quarter's end. San Miguel though was able to trade buckets until time expired, to take an 80-78 lead after a Chris Ross trey.

Fajardo returned in the fourth but it was Ross' turn to get hurt. Ross scored the Beermen's first five markers before pain in his calf forced him back to the locker room. Barako Bull deployed a zone defense and whittled the lead down to one, but allowed Chris Lutz to hit back-to-back treys to create a 96-91 gap.

Leo Najorda buried a four-point play in addition to two more triples from Pennisi and Ronjay Buenafe, to snatch a 101-100 edge with two minutes left. Wise got a triple to answer a Williams trey, but Barako Bull blanked two tries before San Miguel retook possession with 26 seconds left, 103-103. Marcelo intercepted the entry pass to Fajardo, and the Energy called timeout with 10.1 seconds left. However, Fortuna missed a step-through jumper that sent the game to overtime.

Both teams combined for five triples over the next four minutes, but the Beermen took a 115-111 lead off a Fajardo and-one. Barako Bull didn’t come any closer, as Jason Deutschman split charities and missed a three-pointer. However, Barako still had a chance to force a second overtime after Sol Mercado blanked two charities with 7.6 seconds left. Unfortunately for them, Fortuna dribbled out the clock until he missed a long trey over Arwind Santos' outstretched hands.

Energy point guard Denok Miranda didn't suit up after aggravating his plantar fasciitis prior to tonight. - AMD, GMA News

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL BEER 115 - Williams 33, Fajardo 26, Ross 10, Santos 10, Mercado 9, Lutz 8, Tubid 7, Maierhofer 4, Chua 4, Kramer 2, Lanete 2.

BARAKO 112 - Wise 33, Pennisi 20, Najorda 12, Buenafe 10, Fortuna 10, Jensen 8, Marcelo 6, Lastimosa 4, Wilson 2, Isip 2, Miller 2, Intal 2.

Quarter scoring: 32-26, 58-54, 80-78, 103-103, 115-112