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PBA: San Miguel fends off Magnolia to earn share of lead

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="The San Miguel Beermen improved to 4-0 in the 2023 PBA Governors" Cup.="" PBA="" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2023/sports/02/05/02052023-san-miguel-fends-off-magnolia-to-earn-share-of-lead.jpg"/><figcaption>The San Miguel Beermen improved to 4-0 in the 2023 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup. PBA Images.</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- (UPDATED) The San Miguel Beermen forced a three-way tie for first place in the 2023 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup after holding on for a pulsating 100-98 win over the Magnolia Hotshots, Sunday evening at the Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen squandered a 12-point third quarter lead and nearly lost all of a 10-point advantage in the fourth period as well, but did just enough on defense in the final ten seconds to secure the victory.Six players scored in double-digits for San Miguel, with import Cameron Clark putting up 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. June Mar Fajardo also had a double-double, with 16 points and 10 boards; Marcio Lassiter earned Player of the Game honors after scoring making six of his 10 triples en route to 18 points.&quot;Our defense leads to our offense,&quot; SMB coach Jorge Gallent said of the key to their win. &quot;We struggled with our offense in the first half because we weren&#x27;t playing defense … We have to play as a unit for us to progress offensively.&quot; San Miguel is now tied with Converge and NLEX at the top of the league standings, with all three teams having 4-0 win-loss records.The Hotshots have yet to break into the win column, dropping to 0-3 in the season-ending conference.After trailing 51-47 at the half, the Beermen turned things around in the third period where they out-scored Magnolia, 32-19, to enter the final frame with a relatively comfortable 79-70 lead.Their advantage stretched to 10 points, 85-75, when CJ Perez threw down a slam dunk in transition with under nine minutes to go. But Jio Jalalon immediately answered with a three-pointer, as the Hotshots refused to go away easily. They had a perfect opportunity to tie the game with under four minutes to go when Jericho Cruz committed a turnover, but Paul Lee bricked a layup in open court. On the other end, Lassiter knocked down a huge three-pointer to keep Magnolia at bay, and San Miguel pushed the lead to nine points when Clark scored off a putback, 100-91, with 1:18 to go.The Hotshots made a last rally when Mark Barroca drilled a three-pointer, and they forced San Miguel into a 24-second violation in their next possession. That led to Calvin Abueva scoring in transition in their next possession to make it a four-point game, 100-96.Magnolia again forced a stop in the next possession, with Jio Jalalon poaching the ball from Fajardo that led to another Abueva layup. With San Miguel clinging to a 100-98 lead, the Hotshots sent Perez to the line -- where he proceeded to miss two free throws with 10.2 seconds to go.Fortunately for San Miguel, Lee&#x27;s last-second three-pointer was way off mark as time expired, and they escaped with the slim win. &quot;All the coaches were emphasizing that we gotta play better defense. We knew the second half was going to come down to that -- getting a lot of stops. Credit to our team for the defense tonight,&quot; said Lassiter after the game.Lee led the Hotshots with 19 points, while Jalalon had 17 points, seven rebounds, six steals, and five assists. Magnolia scored 27 points off the Beermen&#x27;s 21 turnovers in the contest.But they got little from their import, Erik McCree, who had just 13 points and eight rebounds. He shot just 4-of-18 from the field, including just one of 10 from long distance.The Scores:SAN MIGUEL 100 – Clark 19, Lassiter 18, Perez 17, Fajardo 16, Cruz 13, Enciso 12, Brondial 3, Manuel 2, Bulanadi 0MAGNOLIA 98 – Lee 19, Jalalon 17, Mccree 13, Barroca 13, Abueva 11, Escoto 9, Laput 9, Dela Rosa 4, Wong 3, Reavis 0, Corpuz 0QUARTERS: 26-29, 47-51, 79-70, 100-98.

San Miguel Beer forced a three-way tie for first place in the 2023 PBA Governors' Cup after holding off the Magnolia Hotshots, 100-98, on Sunday. 

PBA: San Miguel fends off Magnolia to earn share of lead

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PBA: San Miguel fends off Magnolia to earn share of lead

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Feb 05, 2023 06:48 PM PHT

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Updated Feb 05, 2023 07:57 PM PHT

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basketball

PBA

PBA Governors' Cup

San Miguel Beermen

Magnolia Hotshots

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