Beermen ‘Shell-shocked’

An undermanned Shell squad carved out the biggest upset thus far in the PBA All-Filipino Cup, fighting back from a 20-point deficit to stun the highly-fancied San Miguel Beer side, 80-73, in overtime at the Philsports Arena last night.

It was such an incredible victory for the Turbo Chargers that coach Perry Ronquillo likened their feat to "climbing Mt. Everest."

The Turbo Chargers bucked the odds, showing a lot of patience as they overcame the absence of Paras, a woeful 23-percent shooting in the first half and the ouster of Dale Singson in the fourth quarter due to injury in pulling the rug from under the Beermen.

Chris Jackson, Rob Wainwright and Gerry Esplana emerged as Shell’s biggest heroes as the Turbo Chargers beat the Beermen for the first time in their last seven head-to-head matches dating back to their 1999 Commissioner’s Cup title duel.

A near-capacity crowd at the Pasig venue stood as witness as Shell forced a deadlock atop the chart with San Miguel and Red Bull.