MANILA – Andy Mark Barroca scored on a buzzer beater as Magnolia Hotshots escaped with an 88-86 victory over the San Miguel Beermen in Game 5 of the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
With both teams knotted at 86-all, Barroca eluded the defense of Beermen center Christian Standhardinger to drain the game-winning basket and push the Hotshots one win away from unseating their foes for the All-Filipino Cup throne.
Barroca finished the match with 22 points while Ian Sangalang contributed double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds.
With the win, the Hotshots took the pivotal 3-2 edge in the race-to-four series.
Paul Lee also contributed 12 markers before hurting his shoulder late in the game while Jiovani Jalalon had eight points, nine assists and six rebounds. Rafael Reavis chipped in eight markers and 10 boards.
The Hotshots waxed hot early in the match. It established a 9-3 edge on early hits from Lee and Barroca.
The lead grew to as high as 45-29 midway in the second period following a basket from Kyle Pascual.
The Beermen started strong in the third period and even took a 58-53 lead following a basket by Standhardinger. But the Hotshots quickly regrouped and regain the edge at 84-71 on basket from Sangalang and Barroca.
The Beermen made a huge run behind June Mar Fajardo to come to within 83-84. The Hotshots, however, extended it to 86-83 on two freebies by Jalalon before the SMB tied the score for the last time at 86-all on a triple by Terrence Romeo.
The game was disrupted midway in the fourth quarter. An unidentified fan clad in Spiderman costume stormed to the court and bumped into Fajardo, who was down on the floor for several minutes. The intruder was immediately arrested.
For the Beermen whose four-year Philippine Cup domination was in danger, Fajardo finished the match with double-double 21 points and 22 rebounds while Chris Ross and Arwind Santos chipped in 20 and 18 markers, respectively./PN
