San Miguel Beer's Chris Ross was phenomenal in the Beermen's 99-88 win over Ginebra in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at Araneta last night.
Chris had 24 pts (8 in the 4th period where SMB outscored Ginebra, 30-22) 4 rebs 8 assts. Jun Mar Fajardo, however, was named Best Player with 17 pts 18 rebs 3 assts as he led the charge down the stretch. Ginebra was on top 88-87 with 4 minutes left then SMB dropped a 12-0 bomb to end it. Ginebra missed its last 7 shots including 4 from beyond the arc.
Ginebra forgot to play defense in the homestretch and tried to trade baskets with SMB which was a mistake because Ginebra can't beat SMB in a shootout. SMB took 46 3s in Game 2 which Ginebra won but only 29 in Game 3. Ginebra lacked aggressiveness in attacking the rim and took only 11 free throws compared to SMB's 29.
As a result, none of the SMB mainstays was in foul trouble----Alex Cabagot had 4 fouls but wasn' t close to fouling out. in Game 2, Chris and JuneMar fouled out and Marcio Lassiter was ejected. Ginebra faces a must-win situation in Game 4 tomorrow because it's almost impossible to beat SMB three in a row if SMB opens a 3-1 series edge @smbeermen @cmross6
Scoreboard:
SAN MIGUEL 99 – Ross 24, Cabagnot 20, Fajardo 17, Lassiter 16, Santos 9, Tubid 6, Reyes 3, Heruela 2, Espinas 2, Garcia 0.
GINEBRA 88 – Tenorio 16, Ferrer 15, Aguilar 12, Ellis 12, Caguioa 11, Thompson 8, Devance 6, Mercado 5, Marcelo 3, Helterbrand 0, Taha 0.
Quarterscores: 19-24, 44-49, 69-66, 99-88.