Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — San Miguel Beermen had three golden chances to tie the series against the Alaska Aces. Unfortunately for the defending champions, they turned them into a lump of coal in the dying seconds of Game 2 of the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup finals on Tuesday (January 19).
When momentum went the Beermen’s way, San Miguel slotman Yancy De Ocampo trooped to the foul line with 19.7 ticks to go for two freebies and a chance to gain the lead for the first time in the swashbuckling contest, 81-80.
But De Ocampo, who has been doing a decent job covering the bases in lieu of injured June Mar Fajardo, muffed both shots.
The Beermen recovered and forced the Aces to turn the ball over in the ensuing play that led to a corner triple by Ronald Tubid.
Again, the ball rimmed out. De Ocampo tried to clean up the possession but his shot was blocked.
From there, things really went downhill for the Beermen.
Vic Manuel canned a pair of free throws with 1.7 left as the Aces went on to thwart the Beermen, 83-80.
With the rousing win at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, the Aces seized a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven title series.
Manuel led the Aces anew, scoring 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field to go with seven rebounds.
“Nag-concentrate talaga ako kasi napaka-importante nun, yun ang magpapanalo o magpapatalo sa’min,” said Manuel on the pressure-packed free throws that sealed the deal for Alaska.
Alaska coach Alex Compton lauded Manuel’s heroics.
“He’s been our leading scorer, and he led us again tonight. It’s fantastic,” said Compton of his prized ward, who was also instrumental in their victory in Game 1.
Compton also commended his counterpart, San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria, whose team made things rough for the Aces even without injured star June Mar Fajardo.
“I have to commend coach Leo,” he said. “We’re fortunate we got away with the win in the first two games.”
He added: “They just don’t give up. I don’t think dehado sila. They’re a team of winners, their shots just didn’t fall.”
Dondon Hontiveros and Cyrus Baguio chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, for Alaska.
Alex Cabagnot fired 23 points for the Beermen, but it wasn’t enough to fan the flames in the homestretch.
