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[av_heading heading=’Beermen ousts Road Warriors to clinch Gov’s Cup semis seat ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
By ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – The San Miguel Beermen squandered a 17-point lead before hanging on to a 114-110 win over the NLEX Road Warriors in the 2016 Oppo PBA Governor’s Cup quarterfinals on Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Reinforcement Elijah Millsap led the way with 39 points and 11 rebounds for the Beermen, which will face the winner in the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings and Alaska Aces matchup in best-of-five semifinals.
June Mar Fajardo chipped in 17 markers, while Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos contributed 14, 14 and 11 points respectively for the defending champions Beermen.
Trailing by as much as eight points early in the opening quarter after a hot start by Road Warriors import Henry Walker, the Beermen went on a 9-0 scoring run behind Fajardo, Millsap and Chris Ross to snatch a slim 24-23 edge.
From a tight start in the second frame, the Beermen went on a scoring surge on three-pointers by Millsap, Lassiter, Gabby Espinas and Ilonggo Ronald Tubid for its largest lead at 63-46.
The Road Warriors made its move in the third quarter to come to within single digits on conversions by Walker. After the Beermen regained an 81-71 lead, the Road Warriors cut it further to 86-82 heading into the final canto.
The Road Warriors continued its run in the final frame to take the lead at 91-90 on a basket by Sean Anthony. But the Beermen leaned on consecutive hits by Millsap to give the Beermen a 96-93 advantage.
The Road Warriors made its last push to tie the score at 100-all on an Asi Taulava basket, but the Beermen went on a finishing run behind Fajardo, Millsap and Cabagnot to advance to the semifinals.
Walker top-scored his conference-high 45 points, including six three-point baskets, while Jonas Villanueva chipped in 17 markers for the Road Warriors, which bowed out of the playoffs for the sixth straight conference./PN
SCORES
SAN MIGUEL 114 – Millsap 39, Fajardo 17, Lassiter 14, Cabagnot 14, Santos 11, Espinas 7, Tubid 6, Ross 4, De Ocampo 2
NLEX 110 – Walker 45, J. Villanueva 17, Lanete 13, Taulava 13, Anthony 11, E. Villanueva 6, Khobuntin 3, Alas 2, Akl 0, Monfort 0, Baracael 0
QUARTERS – 24-23, 63-48, 86-82, 114-110
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