By JAY R. GOTERA
MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen blew past the Jayson Castro-less TNT KaTropa Texters, 96-83, in the do-or-die Game 7 of their 2017 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Monday night. The defending champions thus overcame a 3-2 deficit in the best-of-seven series to move on to the Finals, awaiting the winner of the Ginebra vs. Star Game 7 knockout match on Tuesday. SMB is seeking its third straight Philippine Cup crown.
The Beermen needed a huge 36-21 run in the third quarter to break the game wide open. All five SMB starters finished with double-digit scores. They were led by two-time MVP June Mar Fajardo who once again asserted his heft and height to dominate the paint, finishing with 22 points and 19 rebounds. Arwind Santos also scored 22 points plus 13 boards.
Chris Ross, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, continued to be a major offensive threat as well, tallying 18 points, 11 assists, six boards, one block, and one steal in 44 minutes. The SMB guard banged in 11 of his points in the pivotal third quarter. Alex Cabagnot added 14 markers and seven assists while Marcio Lassiter chipped in 12 points, six boards and four assists.
The Texters badly missed the services of Castro, their top gunner and playmaker, Castro, who suffered a hamstring injury in Game 6, which they lost. TNT also missed one key player in Game 6 — versatile forward Troy Rosario, who got married on that day.
But even without Castro, the Texters waged a gallant battle against the Beermen in the first half. After SMB raced to an 18-7 lead, Kelly Williams and Larry Fonacier stepped up, enabling TNT to cut the Beermen’s lead to just three points, 22-19, going into the second quarter.
The first half ended with SMB ahead by just two points, 41-39. The Beermen finally asserted their might in the third quarter, sparking a 15-4 run to grab a 56-43 lead. They padded their lead to 70-51 after scoring 10 unanswered points.
The Texters managed to trim the deficit to nine points in the fourth quarter but simply did not have the firepower to go beyond that. Larry Fonacier and Roger Pogoy led the Texters with 14 and 13 points, respectively while Kelly Williams added 11 points and 14 rebounds.
Game on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2017: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. Star Hotshots (Game 7, best-of-7 semifinals; series tied 3-3.
