No. 7 San Miguel has just defied the odds and completed its mission.
Chris McCullough scored the game’s last three points to lift the Beermen to the semifinals after a pulsating 90-88 SMB squeaker over NorthPort in their knockout game in the quarterfinals of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Despite facing a twice-to-win disadvantage against the No. 2 seed Batang Pier, San Miguel Beer overcame the obstacles stacked against it for a return trip to the semis.
Aside from his endgame heroics in the final 30 seconds, McCullough finished with 31 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks in a double-double performance to pull the Beermen to the next round.
The versatile reinforcement sank the go-ahead bucket, a tough runner in traffic, with 25.9 seconds left to give San Miguel an 89-88 edge.
After Mo Tautuaa missed on a triple at the other end, McCullough then split his charities after getting fouled, making it 90-88 for the Beermen.
Still with a chance to either tie or win, the Batang Pier went dry as Robert Bolick was unable to put up a decent shot as time expired, allowing San Miguel Beer to advance to the next round and complete a stunning upset after two straight wins.
“We just made quality plays as a team and got good stops down the stretch and we came out with a win,” said McCullough.
Priod to McCullough’s go-ahead bucket, Bolick dropped almost a similar kind of shot with 31.6 seconds to give NorthPort the lead, 88-87.
San Miguel Beer was actually cruising in the game, having a sizeable 16-point lead, 79-63, with under nine minutes left, before allowing NorthPort to get back into the game.
The scores:
San Miguel 90 – McCullough 31, Lassiter 11, Cabagnot 10, Santos 10, Fajardo 8, Standhardinger 8, Romeo 5, Pessumal 3, Ross 2, Rosser 2.
NorthPort 88 – Lanete 22, Tautuaa 20, Ibeh 15, Bolick 13, Anthony 10, Taha 4, Elorde 2, Ferrer 2, Mercado 0, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 21-27, 43-39, 72-62, 90-88