Beermen, Aces regain series lead at 2-1

MANILA, Philippines - In a reversal of Game Two fortunes, San Miguel Beer battled back from a huge deficit and hacked out a come-from-behind 74-70 victory over B-MEG Derby Ace in Game Three of their PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinal showdown at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Beermen stood their ground in a tough defensive battle with the Llamados, overcoming a 17-point deficit late in the first half to gain the crucial 2-1 lead in the series.

“Everybody’s saying we have so much talent but talent can only go so far. In a defensive series, you have to make the stops. I think we should be given credit for playing good defense,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

San Miguel clamped down on Derby Ace, limiting the Llamados to a conference-low of 25 points in the final half.

The Beermen defended toughest in the crunch, holding the Llamados to a 4-of-20 field-goal shooting in the last 12 minutes of play.

“It’s very evident in this game that if you’re playing against Derby Ace, you have to play with a lot of energy. That’s something we’re not able to do at the start,” said Tanquingcen.

“They’re not getting tired, and they would not give up easily. We really had to work hard for this win,” Tanquingcen added.

The Beermen trailed by 17 at 28-45 and were still behind at 65-68 before working on a decisive run at the finish to duplicate the Llamados’ come-from-behind win in Game Two.

SMB bungled an 18-point spread in their previous game.

Arwind Santos, Dondon Hontiveros and Alex Cabagnot starred in San Miguel’s endgame surge that carried the Beermen to within two games of a return stint in the Fiesta Conference finale.

Santos broke a 70-all standoff on a triple then Cabagnot intercepted a Derby Ace throw-in, paving the way for Hontiveros’ trip to the line to clinch the game.

LA Tenorio struggled most of the way but delivered when needed most as Alaska Milk upended Talk n Text, 90-86, for the 2-1 lead in their own semis series.

Tenorio, locked in a classic match-up with Jimmy Alapag in the series, scored all of their last seven points after being held down to two in the first 47 minutes of play.

“LA was as calm as a cucumber,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.