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Beermen’s big fourth quarter downs Express

Heading into the final day of the elimination round of the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, only the top two teams are assured of their final placing.

The San Miguel Beermen join the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters with twice-to-beat advantages in the quarterfinals with a come-from-behind 93-85 win over the Air21 Express, Wednesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen had to overcome an 18-point lead built by the Express in the second half but they heated up just in time to score the important victory.

The first quarter ended with the Beermen holding a 19-16 advantage after a basket from Paolo Hubalde.

The Express knotted the score at 25-all midway into the second quarter after a bucket from the ageless Asi Taulava.

Air21 continued to play well in the second quarter as Eric Camson went on his own scoring spree. The former Adamson Falcon chipped in 10 first half points to help the Express grab a 39-35 lead at the half.

A Taulava basket gave the Express their first taste of a double digit lead at 47-37 early in the third quarter. Marcio Lassiter tried to carry the fight for the Beermen but his effort was thwarted by Air21’s total team effort that saw them build their lead up to 17 at 72-55 at the end of the third quarter.

The Beermen refused to let the game slip away as they mounted a fierce comeback to tart the fourth quarter. A triple from import Kevin Jones gave the Beermen an 80-78 lead with 3:56 left in the game. The shocked Express could not do anything else other than watch the Beermen take the victory away from them.

The Beermen played without Sol Mercado who came from the hospital after suffering from an apparent food poisoning. They will now wait for the results of the games on Sunday which will determine their next opponent.

The Main Man: Marcio Lassiter scored 17 points in the game. He was just the third top scorer of their team but his efforts bridging the third and fourth quarters was the key. Without his mini explosion in the third quarter, the Beermen could have faced a much bigger lead entering the fourth quarter.

Honorable Mentions: Kevin Jones and Arwind Santos both made their shots just when SMB needed these most. Jones topscored with 19 after struggling in the first three quarters while Santos chipped in 18.

Game Turning Point: The game turned in between the third and fourth quarters. Head coach Biboy Ravanes and Team Consultant Todd Purves said something that forced their boys to play with a different kind of confidence in the fourth quarter. They didn’t change their game plan that much but attacked much harder which surprised the Express.

He said it:

SMB Team Consultant Todd Purves: We really struggled to shoot. We had great looks we missed shots we usually make. Our guys just hung in there and played defense until our shots came in the fourth.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL BEER 93 - Jones 19, Santos 18, Lassiter 17, Fajardo 15, Ross 9, Maierhofer 5, Tubid 4, Hubalde 4, Kramer 2, Lanete 0, Lutz 0.

AIR21 85 - Witherspoon 27, Anthony 14, Camson 12, Taulava 9, Yeo 7, Cardona 7, Poligrates 4, Villanueva 2, Ramos 2, Burtscher 1, Borboran 0.

Quarterscores: 19-16, 35-39, 55-72, 93-85