By REYNALD MAGALLON
Don Trollano nailed a booming triple with 8.3 seconds left to help San Miguel rose from the grave against Barangay Ginebra, 85-82, on Easter Sunday, April 5, in the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen trailed by as many as 10 in the payoff period but recovered behind CJ Perez who fired 15 of his 20 points in the final quarter before Trollano put on the finishing touches in the waning seconds.
SMB strung together its first win streak of the mid-season conference to improve to a 3-2 record.
Perez added eight rebounds, three assists and three steals to his line while import Justin Patton had 19 points and 17 rebounds. Trollano finished with 12 while June Mar Fajardo was limited to just six but had 13 rebounds.
San Miguel went on a back-breaking 16-0 run that turned a 58-68 deficit into a 74-68 advantage with 8:47 left in the fourth.
The Beermen led by six, 76-70, but the Kings managed to stay within striking distance and even tied the game twice, the last an 82-all count with 37 seconds left.
That, however, only set up the clutch trey for Trollano as Justin Brownlee and Scottie Thompson both missed on their attempts in the final Kings possession.
Meanwhile, NLEX pulled away in the fourth quarter behind timely hits from Robert Bolick and Kevin Alas and took down Phoenix, 120-102.
Limited to just two points through the first three quarters, Alas came alive in the payoff period and poured 16 of his 18 points while Bolick orchestrated the assault as the Road Warriors seized a solo second in the standings.
NLEX is now with a 4-1 record just behind the still undefeated Rain or Shine which has a 4-0 slate.
