Junemar Fajardo redeemed himself in overtime as he and Marcio Lassiter knocked down crucial free throws that allowed the San Miguel Beermen to endure a frustrating and close fight with the Blackwater Elite Bossings, winning, 110-107, on Sunday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 6’10” Fajardo, who tallied a game-high 25 points with Jericho Cruz, scored two charities off JVee Casio with five ticks to go for the final count, handing the solo-leading Beermen their eighth triumph in nine outings.
Fajardo, who was struggling with his charity shots in final moments of regulation and got limited to one point in the fourth, had six points in the extra period.
His pair of freebies in the closing seconds sent the Beermen to their fifth straight victory.
And his big baskets with time almost expiring assured the Beermen one of two twice-to-beat incentives in the quarterfinals, given to the top two finishers of the eliminations.
Fajardo’s baskets doomed the Bossings with their three-point cushion as they could not force a second extension period.
After Blackwater’s Rashawn McCarthy got a steal from CJ Perez, he turned the ball over on a ball-handling error, allowing the Beermen to get a chance to get some distance.
They got their needed opportunity to pull way off Marcio Lassiter’s two charities off Yousef Taha’s foul, 108-104.
McCarthy fired a team-high 22 points for the Bossings, but a three-point attempt from him with two seconds left missed its mark.
“This team will be tougher going into the playoffs. We’re just lucky we were able to pull off a win in overtime,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria as SMB kept its momentum with the elims about to end.
Baser Amer had 17 points for the Bossings, and his trey in the final three seconds kept them close, 104-106.
Rey Suerte had 18 and Casio knocked in 15 for the Bossings, who are in fourth with their 5-2 card.