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PBA: San Miguel holds on to beat Ginebra

Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<h2>San Miguel extends win streak to 6 games</h2><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2017/sports/01/08/010817-ginebra.jpg"/><figcaption><div class="embed-desc">San Miguel&#x27;s Arwind Santos was named Best Player of the Game with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Richard Esguerra, ABS-CBN Sports</div></figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines – They were given a huge scare by sister team Ginebra, but the San Miguel Beermen displayed just enough poise in the end game to come away with a hard-fought 72-70 victory and extend their winning streak to six games in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup.In front of a rowdy crowd at the Big Dome on Sunday, the Beermen gutted out a victory after nearly squandering a 10-point fourth-quarter lead. Arwind Santos came up huge on both ends of the floor, and was instrumental in bothering LA Tenorio&#x27;s final attempt for the Gin KingsThe Beermen improved to 7-1, inching closer to securing a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals with three games left in their schedule.&quot;I&#x27;m so happy with the team kasi they really fought hard,&quot; San Miguel coach Leo Austria said after the game. &quot;At the start, it seems na reading-ready ang Ginebra, but they refused to lose. &#x27;Yung mga players, talagang gusto nilang manalo.&quot;&quot;We were able to recover and na-control &#x27;yung game. Unfortunately, &#x27;yung last three possessions namin – we were leading by eight points, naging five points, naging two points,&quot; he lamented. &quot;Buti na lang, &#x27;di pumasok &#x27;yung tira (ni Tenorio).&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com/basketball/news/2017/01/08/ros-takes-solo-second-burning-phoenix-20117">READ: ROS takes over solo second after burning Phoenix</a></li></ul>Santos, the hero of the game for SMB, finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds, one steal and one block. Three of his rebounds came on the offensive end, none more crucial than the two he grabbed in the final minute off bricked three-pointers by Alex Cabagnot.His final offensive board came with 12.5 seconds to go and forced Ginebra to foul Marcio Lassiter, who shockingly missed two charities. Ginebra had the chance to win the game or force overtime with 11 seconds left, but Santos did enough to bother Tenorio&#x27;s floater, and June Mar Fajardo was able to secure possession and tip it to Santos who ran out the clock.The loss ensured that Ginebra&#x27;s up-and-down conference continued. The reigning PBA Governors&#x27; Cup champions have yet to win back-to-back games in the All-Filipino Cup, and with this most recent defeat, they dropped to 3-4 in the tournament.<div>Taking control</div>Ginebra was the better team in the early goings, leading by as much as eight points, 23-15, in the second quarter of the low-scoring contest. They limited Fajardo&#x27;s touches: the reigning MVP had only four shot attempts in the first half as the Gin Kings sought to limit his impact.Nevertheless, the Beermen were able to secure a 32-31 lead at the half, and maintained their edge, 53-49, at the end of the third quarter despite Fajardo sitting out most of the frame.The sister teams went back-and-forth in the early part of the fourth quarter, with Sol Mercado going toe-to-toe with the Beermen. It was Mercado who tied the game at 53 with 10:38 left, and again at 58 with 8:20 to go after taking the ball strong to the hoop.It would be the last deadlock of the game, however. A three-pointer by Ronald Tubid – his third of the game – handed SMB the lead for good, 61-58, and sparked a 14-4 run that put San Miguel on top, 72-62, with just 2:26 to go.Santos was impressive in the Beermen&#x27;s run, scoring on back-to-back lay-ups, including a transition bucket off a difficult touchdown pass from Fajardo.<div>&#x27;Never say die&#x27;</div>However, Ginebra refused to go down easily. A tip-in by Japeth Aguilar cut the lead to eight, and Joe Devance and Tenorio drained back-to-back triples that made it a two-point game, 70-72, with still 51.9 seconds left.&quot;I knew from the start that this would be a tight game for us,&quot; admitted Austria, whose wards only had a one-day break from their win over Blackwater before facing Ginebra.Given two chances to drain the dagger, Cabagnot misfired on both, but Santos was there to secure the offensive board with each miss.&quot;&#x27;Yun naman ang trademark ni Arwind Santos, ang kanyang offensive rebounding,&quot; said Austria.Lassiter similarly failed to ice the game at the free throw line, but Austria was relieved to see that his players had enough energy left to come up with the defensive stop needed to win the game.&quot;Mabuti na lang, talagang may kaunti pang Petron na laman ang gas tank ng mga players,&quot; he said.Cabagnot, again playing with a black protective face mask for his fractured nose, had 16 points to lead SMB, while Fajardo was held to a season-low nine points though he did have 11 rebounds. Lassiter struggled from the field, making only two of 15 attempts, but tried to make up for it with his activity on the glass – he had 13 rebounds, the most among San Miguel players.Aguilar finished with a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Mercado had 11 points. They were the only two players in double-digits for Ginebra, who shot only 36% from the field.San Miguel actually shot worse, making only 32% of their attempts. But the Beermen had a 59-50 rebounding advantage, and grabbed 21 offensive rebounds that led to 22 second chance points.<div>The scores:</div>SAN MIGUEL 72 - Cabagnot 16, Tubid 12, Santos 10, Fajardo 9, Lassiter 7, Espinas 7, De Ocampo 5, Ross 4, Garcia 2, Heruela 0.GINEBRA 70 - Aguilar 17, Mercado 11, Tenorio 8, Devance 7, Ferrer 7, Thompson 6, Cruz 6, Ellis 2, Mariano 2, Marcelo 2, Caguioa 2.Quarter scores: 15-17, 32-31, 53-49, 72-70For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN <a href="http://sports.abs-cbn.com" target="_blank">Sports website.</a>

San Miguel Beermen displayed just enough poise in the end game to come away with a hard-fought 72-70 victory and extend their winning streak to six games in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup.

San Miguel Beermen displayed just enough poise in the end game to come away with a hard-fought 72-70 victory and extend their winning streak to six games in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup.

PBA: San Miguel holds on to beat Ginebra

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PBA: San Miguel holds on to beat Ginebra

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Jan 08, 2017 09:39 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

Philippine Cup

San Miguel Beermen

Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings

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