Amal McCaskill finally pulled one over Steven Thomas as Magnolia drew even with Air21 after four games of their 2008 Smart PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinal showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
McCaskill pumped in a turnaround jumper off Thomas himself in the closing seconds as the Beverage Masters eked out a 104-102 win that reduced their battle to a best-of-three affair. Magnolia beat Air21 for the first time in the tourney with Thomas in harness. For McCaskill, it was his first over Thomas in four matches.
Thomas had his big baskets at endgame but McCaskill had the final laugh after making the game-winning basket with time down to 1.4 seconds.
With no more timeout left, the Express could no longer map out a decent play, eventually yielding the game with Arwind Santos making an errant throw-in.
"It was anybody's ball game and it so happened that we made the last big shot," said Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen.
"Dikit lagi ang laban namin from the elimination round and I don't see it getting easier the rest of this series," Tanquingcen added. "Malaking bagay sa morale namin na nakatabla kami."
Gary David sizzled with 32 points but fouled out on two successive offensive infractions entering the homestretch.
Santos and Thomas picked up the cudgels on the ouster of David but the Beverage Masters stood their ground, getting clutch shots from Lordy Tugade and McCaskill.
Thomas scored all of Air21's last five points, including a short stab off McCaskill, tying the count at 102 with 14.4 seconds to go.
McCaskill, however, saved the day for Magnolia, and the Beverage Masters avoided falling into a 1-3 hole in the series.
The two teams figured in another tight contest marred by a near brawl between the two teams while heading to the lockers at the halftime break.
The Beverage Masters came back strong from the halftime huddle, engaging the Express in seven deadlocks and three lead changes after trailing by eight at the turn.
David and Nino Canaleta failed to finish the game both on account of fouls while Wynne Arboleda sat out the last three minutes of the contest due to leg cramps.
Though worse in overall field-goal shooting, the Express took the half at 57-49 as they hit five triples to none for the Beverage Masters.
Gary David went 2-of-2 from beyond the arc in the first half and himself fueled the Express' decisive charge from a 26-all standoff at the start of the second period.
Air21 outscored Magnolia, 12-8, on second-chance points and, 9-4, on points off turnovers in the first 24 minutes of play. (NC)
The scores:
Magnolia 104 -- McCaskill 19, Tugade 19, Ildefonso 19, Pingris 10, Pena 10, Racela 7, Seigle 7, Hontiveros 6, Calaguio 3, Villanueva 2, Cortez 2.
Air21 102 -- David 32, Thomas 20, Santos 15, Arboleda 10, De Ocampo 8, Se 6, Kramer 4, Canaleta 3, Cruz 2, Billones 2, Intal 0, Sotto 0.
Quarterscores: 26-26, 49-57, 78-80, 104-102. |
No comments:
Post a Comment