By ADRIAN STEWART CO
The San Miguel Beermen relied on an endgame breakaway to stave off the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 117-107, in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the Dasmariñas Arena in Dasmariñas, Cavite on Wednesday night, May 22.
Holding to a slim 99-97 lead with over six minutes left, the Beermen created separation from the Painters behind consecutive baskets from Celedonio Trollano and Jaymar Perez for a 105-99 edge.
The Painters continued their run to cut the deficit to 105-109, but the Beermen answered with a three-pointer from Marcio Lassiter and back-to-back hits from Terrence Romeo for a 117-107 lead.
Perez tallied a double-double of 23 points and 14 rebounds, while Lassiter converted five outside shots to end up with 21 markers as the Beermen took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven semis series.
Trollano also ended with a double-double of 20 points and 11 rebounds. Romeo, Chris Ross and Moala Tautuaa tallied 13, 12 and 10, respectively, while June Mar Fajardo had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Beermen.
Beau Belga top-scored for the Painters with 19 points, including six three-pointers. Adrian Nocum, Keith Datu and Jhonard Clarito added 14 points apiece, while Andrei Caracut and Leonard Santillan ended with 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Meanwhile, the Meralco Bolts overcame a late Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings run to escape with an 87-80 win in Game 3, taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Final Four series.
Comfortably ahead at 83-66 with over six minutes left, the Gin Kings stunned the Bolts with a massive 9-2 run behind Nard John Pinto and Von Pessumal to cut the deficit to 75-85.
The Gin Kings went on with their run as LA Tenorio drilled a three-pointer, and Pinto connected on a fastbreak layup, trimming the deficit further to 80-85 with 24 seconds left.
Barangay Ginebra still had their last chance to pull even closer after two missed freebies by Meralco’s Alvin Pasaol, but Tenorio misfired on a triple before the Bolts sealed the win with two free throws from Jansen Rios.
Allein Maliksi top-scored with 16 points, including three three-point conversions, while Chris Newsome and Kier John Quinto contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bolts./ASC, WDJ
SAN MIGUEL 117 — Perez 23, Lassiter 21, Trollano 20, Romeo 13, Ross 12, Fajardo 11, Tautuaa 10, Brondial 4, Cruz 3, Enciso 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 107 — Belga 19, Datu 14, Clarito 14, Nocum 14, Caracut 13, Santillan 12, Mamuyac 6, Asistio 6, Norwood 4, Demusis 3, Ildefonso 2.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 51-47, 91-85, 117-107.