MANILA – San Miguel Beermen got a timely boost from Robbie Herndon to pull off a 108-100 overtime win over TNT Tropang Giga in Game 3 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals last night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Inserted in place of fouled out Jaymar Perez and Marcio Lassiter late in the fourth period, Herndon made an immediate impact with a booming triple but also commited a costly technical foul that send the game into overtime.
Herndon, however, made it up with a two-pointer to start the overtime period followed a triple to surge the Beermen ahead 99-94 before Ilonggo Jericho Cruz added four more points for a 103-94 lead.
The Tropang Giga tried to stay alive with triples from Glenn Khobuntin and Roger Pogoy to cut it to 100-106 but two more freebies by Cruz sealed the win for the Beermen.
Herndon, who did not play in the first two games of the PBA Finals, finished Game 3 with eight points and four rebounds in eight minutes of play to surge the Beermen to a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven series.
June Mar Fajardo had a monster double-double 27 points and 27 rebounds to go with a block, while Cruz contributed 18 markers, all in the second half, for the Beermen.
Vic Manuel contributed 12 points before being slowed down in the second half with an apparent injury, while Lassiter and Perez struggled with 13 and 11, respectively.
The Beermen can move closer to its first-ever PBA championship since ruling the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup if it can clinch Game 4 at six in the evening on Sunday.
Roger Pogoy top-scored anew for the defending champions Tropang Giga with 25 points, including four made triples, while Jayson Castro and Mikey Williams added 17 markers apiece.
John Paul Erram had double-double 11 points and 15 rebounds, while Khobuntin and Kelly Williams chipped in 11 and 10 markers, respectively, for the TNT.
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 108 — Fajardo 27, Cruz 18, Lassiter 13, Manuel 12, Perez 11, Herndon 8, Ross 8, Tautuaa 6, Brondial 5, Enciso 0.
TNT 100 — Pogoy 25, Castro 17, M. Williams 17, Erram 11, Khobuntin 11, K. Williams 10, Rosario 4, Reyes 3, Marcelo 2, Montalbo 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 27-19, 49-46, 74-76, 94-94, 108-100./PN
