Despite their opponents holding the no.2 spot, SMB advances to semis

“Semis Bound! Its 90 – 88 in favor of the San Miguel Beermen! Best Player: Chris McCullough with 31 points and 11 rebounds #PBACommsCup #PBALabanKungLaban” (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

The San Miguel Beermen were able to overcome the twice-to-beat advantage of second-seeded NorthPort, officially advancing to the semifinals of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup with a 90-88 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday, July 24.

Almost losing grip of their 16-point lead in the fourth quarter, Arwind Santos secured his team’s victory with five crucial points, totalling 10 in the entire game. However, it was import Chris McCollough who provided the Beermen 31 points and 11 rebounds. Marcio Lassiter was the next highest pointer at 11 points but had to leave for the hospital during the second half to receive an MRI for a knee injury. Alex Cabagnot also provided 10 points for the Beermen.

For NorthPort, it was Garvo Lanete who was hot on scoring as he contributed 22 points. Moala Tautuaa and Robert Bolick added 20 and 13 points respectively, while Prince Ibeh performed with a double-double of 15 points and 20 rebounds.

The seventh-seeded Beermen’s head coach Leo Austria considers his team “lucky,” saying, “After the first game, we thought that it’s too easy to beat them but I have to give credit to the coaching staff of NorthPort because they prepared really hard. They have a good plan for this game.”

He explained, “We’re lucky we got the breaks in the last three possessions,” continuing, “We’re so happy we made it in spite of the fact that we were at number seven at the end of eliminations. Our experience helped us a lot, especially in the last few possessions. Thank God that He gave us this win.”

San Miguel is now waiting for their opponents for the semifinals, as it will be determined by who wins between the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Blackwater Elite in the semifinals. Coach Leo stated, “So lucky to get back into the semifinals, because we have been struggling since the start of the Commissioner’s Cup.”