Llamados survive Tigers, inch closer to semis

Tim Cone was feeling a case of déjà vu.

His B-Meg Llamados had built up a double-digit lead against the Powerade Tigers in the fourth period, only to see Gary David lead another big rally and put his team in position to steal another won game from the Llamados.

Flashback to the Philippine Cup quarterfinals, when B-Meg blew a 16-point lead and David buried a triple with time winding down to send the game into overtime, where the Tigers eventually prevailed and knocked off the top-seeded Llamados.

This game was beginning to look a lot like that one, with B-Meg protecting a three-point lead 5.6 seconds left and David on the line for three free throws after getting fouled by Denzel Bowles while going for the game-tying triple. But to the surprise of everyone, including Cone, David missed two of the three charities, and B-Meg escaped with a 96-94 win.

"I never would have believed that," Cone said of David's two missed free throws. "I was already mapping out a play, thinking he'd make all three.

"You wouldn't be human if you didn't have déjà vu on that. They really seized the momentum in the last two, three minutes of the game. They hit some tough shots. But this time, they missed the free throws rather hit a big three."

The Llamados were comfortably ahead by 11 at 92-81 with just 4:17 left. But David hit two free throws to spark a 12-2 Powerade run that brought the Tigers to within 94-93 with only 46 ticks left. After Bowles missed a tough shot, Dwayne Jones collared the rebound to give Powerade a chance to complete another big comeback against B-Meg.

David's 18-footer with 22 ticks to go was a bit long, but Marcio Lassiter tapped the ball out of Bowles' hands and towards JV Casio, giving Powerade another chance to score. After a timeout, Casio spotted Jones cutting to the basket, but his pass was deflected by Josh Urbiztondo for a turnover. The Tigers sent Urbiztondo to the line with 10.7 seconds left, and the B-Meg point guard coolly sank both free throws to give B-Meg a 96-93 lead.

Powerade ran a great play to get David open on the right flank, and he had a good look at the basket when he launched his triple attempt. The shot was straight but a bit long, and Bowles collided into David trying to get a block and was called for the foul with 5.6 ticks to go.

David first free throw rimmed out, but he made his second. The third also rolled off, but the Tigers somehow kept the ball alive. But Sean Anthony missed an undergoal stab, and B-Meg hung on for the win.

Cone admitted his players were fatigued in the fourth, while the Tigers still looked fresh.

"They do a really good job of wearing you down offensively. They move and they move and they're young and they keep moving. By the fourth quarter, our tongues are hanging out and they still seem to be in fifth gear. We did a great job of defending them for three quarters and then we got into penalty early in the fourth, and that really hurt us. We couldn't play the defense we wanted to play. They were able to take advantage of that. Gary David got very aggressive, knowing that if we stayed aggressive against him he was gonna get fouled and go to the line. And that's how they got back into the game.

"Sometimes the ball falls in your favor, sometimes it doesn't. Tonight, it fell in our favor."

The Llamados got a big boost from JC Intal, who shadowed David for most of the game and helped limit him to just 13 points after three periods.

"I thought JC stepped up really well for us defensively, especially the first three quarters," Cone said of his small forward who finished with six points and eight rebounds. "That's basically why we got JC, so he can guard guys like Gary David."

James Yap also came up big for B-Meg despite playing with a sore Achilles tendon that limited his movement. After going scoreless in the first half, Yap exploded for 13 points in the third quarter to help the Llamados pull away. His third triple gave B-Meg a 73-59 advantage with 56 seconds to go in the third, before Powerade scored seven unanswered points to stay in the game.

"There's so little that separates teams in this league," Cone said, "and you gotta look for an edge, whether it be your discipline, or your talent, although your talent takes you so far, your togetherness, your confidence. Those are things that give you an edge over the other team. And Powerade obviously has a lot of confidence against us after beating us the last two times. So it was absolutely nice to get up and get a lead again, and this time hold on."

With the win, B-Meg finished the elimination round at 6-3 and boosted its chances of gaining one of two outright semifinal slots. The Llamados advance to the semis outright if Talk 'N Text loses Petron on Wednesday. If TNT wins, B-Meg still advances if Barangay Ginebra loses to Air21, also on Wednesday. If Ginebra wins and TNT loses, then all three teams will end up tied for first at 6-3, in which case B-Meg gains top spot by virtue of a superior quotient. But if both TNT and Ginebra win, then the Llamados and Kings will figure in a playoff for the second semis berth.

Powerade lost its second straight close game to fall to 4-5, but the worst-case scenario for the Tigers is they battle Meralco in a playoff for the last quarterfinal slot. If Air21 cooperates and beats Ginebra, then Powerade, Air21, Meralco and Barako Bull all end up at 4-5. In this case the Tigers clinch a quarterfinal slot due to a superior quotient while Meralco and Barako Bull duke it out for the last quarters berth.

E-mail: sid_ventura@yahoo.com. Twitter: @Sid_Ventura