Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The seventh-seeded Meralco Bolts brought down heavy favorite second-seed San Miguel Beer, 106-99, on Saturday night to force a sudden-death match Monday in the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors' Cup. Starting off cold, the Bolts fell behind by double-digits in the first quarter but came back stronger in the second half. Playing like grizzled veterans, the Bolts erected a nine-point lead heading into the final six minutes of the game. But the Beermen scored nine straight points to tie the game up at 99-all. Reynel Hugnatan then drilled a cold-blooded three-pointer followed by shot clock-beating floater from Cliff Hodge to give Meralco a 104-99 with 1:04 remaining. It was all downhill for the Beermen as import Andre Emmett stole the ball and drove all the way for the final basket of the night. Emmett led Meralco with 28 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while Jared Dillinger came up big with 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting, including 4-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc. Kelly Nabong also stood out for the Bolts, posting a double-double of 15 points and 12 rebounds. June Mar Fajardo played his best game in the conference, leading SMB with 30 points. Import Arizona Reid added 21 points while Marcio Lassiter and Ronald Tubid chipped in 17 and 15 markers, respectively. Rain or Shine 134, Barako Bull 132 (2OTs) Paul Lee scored the marginal basket off a spin with 7.4 seconds left as the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters survived a ferocious charge by the Barako Bull Energy to prevail, 134-132, after two overtime periods. The third-seeded Painters thus barged into the semifinals and will meet the winner of the San Miguel Beer versus Meralco knockout match Monday. Rain or Shine's seventh straight victory this conference ensured the Painters' seventh straight semifinal appearance in the league. But it did not come easily as the Energy put up a valiant fight, erasing a 25-point deficit in the second quarter and fighting the Painters tooth and nail the rest of the way. Lee finished with 23 points, including 6-of-9 from beyond the three-point arc, on top of eight rebounds, and seven assists. Import Wendell Mckines was the top scorer and rebounder for ROS, posting 36 points and 15 boards. He also had three assists, two blocks, and one steal. Canadian import Liam McMorrow paced Barako Bull with 32 points, including two dunks that tied the score twice. His first dunk forced the second overtime at 111-111. He knotted the score at 132-132 on another dunk, with seconds remaining. With the game headed for a third overtime, Lee drove and scored on an off-balanced twisting floater with 7.3 seconds left to finally settle the issue. Four other Painters scored in double digits with Chris Tiu finishing with 14 points, Jeff Chan and Ryan Arana adding 12 apiece and Beau Belga chipping in 11 markers. RR Garcia was the top local scorer for Barako Bull with 25 points. However, he missed a potential game-winning layup in the first overtime. JC Intal, Joseph Yeo and Willy Wilson added 16 apiece. Chico Lanete chipped in 10. Game Sunday: Star Hotshots vs. GlobalPort Batang Pier (knockout match).
