Alaska import Romeo Travis posts up against San Miguel’s Arizona Reid in Game 3 of the PBA Governors’ Cup Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.(PBA IMAGES)
Once again riding on a strong finishing kick, the San Miguel Beermen moved a game away from another title as they outlasted the Alaska Aces, 96-89, last night in Game 3 of the 40th PBA Governors’ Cup Best-of-Seven Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.
It was another dogfight for the two squads but the Beermen proved to be the steadier squad, duplicating their 103-95 Game 2 victory to mount a commanding 3-0 series lead.
No team in league history has ever recovered from a 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
The Beermen will take the first of their four chances of winning their league-best 21st title when the two squads clash on Friday at the same venue.
“We need four wins to claim the title. Mathematically, Alaska still has a chance to turn this series around,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Import Arizona Reid came up with yet another solid showing for the Beermen as he exploded for 41 points on 17-for-26 shooting from the field.
The prolific import scored 32 points when the Beermen easily won Game 1, 108-78. He had 37 markers in Game 2 where the Beermen needed a strong fourth quarter showing to escape with the win.
A strong fourth quarter attack was what San Miguel did anew to win Game 3 and Reid was there to lead the way for the Beermen.
Alaska was ahead, 83-78, when Reid took over.
The dread-locked import scored 11 points in a blistering 13-2 attack that allowed the Beermen to take control.
Reid, who also had 12 rebounds and three assists, capped his scoring outburst with a booming triple, pushing the Beermen ahead, 91-85, with 2:54 left.
Chris Banchero ended the long drought for the Aces with a layup but Alex Cabagnot hit two free throws for a 93-87 San Miguel lead with 1:21 to go.
A baseline dunk by Calvin Abueva cut San Miguel’s lead to four, 89-93, in the final 35.5 seconds. Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter preserved the win for the Beermen by knocking down crucial free throws.
A solid local production once again helped the Beermen thwart the Aces.
Cebuano center June Mar Fajardo, the leading contender for this season’s Most Valuable Player award, posted 14 points and 18 rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot contributed 13 markers.
“I can’t say enough of my players, they really worked hard to win this game,” said Austria.
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