PBA: San Miguel goes 2-0 as another Terrafirma comeback falls short 

San Miguel wasted a 22-point lead but dug deep late to deny Terrafirma, 109-104, and remain spotless in the PBA Season 50 Governors' Cup on Saturday at the Ynares Center Antipolo.

Import George King scored seven of the Beermen's last 11 points to turn back the gritty stand from Juami Tiongson and Dyip, who were coming off similar comeback attempts against NLEX and Converge, to improve to 2-0 in Group A.

Terrafirma, meanwhile, sustained its third straight loss, all of which saw the franchise erase a huge deficit, stage a fightback, and still fall short in the end.

"We're fortunate there. It could have easily been Terrafirma. Luckily, our defense at the moment showed up," King said.

Once down by double digits, Terrafirma slowly trimmed the gap with Tiongson torching his former team from beyond the arc, firing a triple that pulled the Dyip to one, 97-98, late in the fourth.

Maverick Ahanmisi then forced a 101-all deadlock after completing back-to-back baskets before Tiongson buried another long bomd to give his side a 104-101 cushion in the final 1:21.

However, the Beermen turned to their import as King took over to spoil thr Terrafirma comeback.
before he converted his own steal into a basket to give San Miguel a 105-104 lead.

Terrafirma still had plenty of time to manufacture a shot but defensive lapses and back-to-back misses from Tiongson and Ahanmisi allowed San Miguel to steal the victory off a pair of free throws each from CJ Prez and Don Trollano.

King led the way anew with 37 points, 14 rebounds, two assists, and three steals while CJ Perez and Trollano posted 22 and 17 markers, respectively.

Justin Strings top-scored Terrafirma with 28 points and 12 rebounds while Tiongson finished with 27 markers in his first game facing San Miguel since being traded last July.

Scores:

San Miguel 109 – King 37, Perez 22, Trollano 17, Ahanmisi 9, Brondial 8, Cruz 6, Tautuaa 6, Fajardo 2, Hernandez 2, Lassiter 0, Ross 0, Cahilig 0.

Terrafirma 104 – Strings 28, Tiongson 27, Ahanmisi 20, Paraiso 10, Chiu 9, Bravo 8, Mariano 2, Eriobu 0, Catapusan 0, Umali 0.

Quarters: 22-15, 66-46, 81-73, 109-104.

—JKC, GMA News