MANILA – San Miguel Beermen showed its poise in the end to eliminate Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 98-95, in Game 4 of the 2019 Honda PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Trailing 91-94 after a triple by Painters’ Gabe Norwood, Chris McCullough surged the Beermen ahead, 96-94, via a two-pointer and a triple before Terrence Romeo extended the lead to 98-94 with a jumper.
The Painters cut the deficit to 95-98 after a split free throw by Rey Nambatac and had a chance to force an overtime. James Yap, however, turned the ball over as the final buzzer sounded.
McCullough finished the match with double-double 35 points and 18 rebounds while Alex Cabagnot and June Mar Fajardo added 21 and 19 markers, respectively.
The Beermen, aiming for its second straight PBA crown this season after ruling the Philippine Cup, will face TNT KaTropa in the best-of-seven finals starting tomorrow.
The Beermen went on a 22-10 start in the opening period on hits by Fajardo and McCullough but the Painters quickly erased it with consecutive triples and took a 44-41 halftime edge.
The Painters continued its hot shooting in the third period and built its largest lead at 13 points. The Beermen, however, clawed its way back to make it a seesaw affair until the latter part of the match.
Carl Montgomery finished with double-double 18 points and 17 rebounds while Nambatac and Eduardo Daquioag added 15 markers apiece for the Painters, which finished the tournament at fourth place./PN
