TERRAFIRMA gunner Juami Tiongson boomed in two three-pointers in the face of big man Mo Tautuaa of defending champion San Miguel Beer midway into the fourth quarter as the combatants battled in a seesaw duel a day after the pro league celebrated its 49th anniversary.
But Tautuaa–who mostly plays as reliever to reigning seven-time MVP June Mar Fajardo–had the last laugh last night.
The Beermen eked out a thrilling 113-110 victory over the gritty Dyip for their fifth straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Aquino Stadium in Manila.
The hulking and bearded Tautuaa scored on a tough and lefty reverse layup that gave SMB a 113-110 cushion with 15.1 seconds to go after Terrafirma center Isaac Go made it a 110-111 count with a trey, a little over 27 ticks earlier.
With a chance to forge overtime, the Dyip went to Tiongson in their final offensive thrust, but Tautuaa harassed Tiongson like there was no tomorrow–hounding him, keeping in step with Terrafirma’s main man and forcing him to give up possession.
After getting the pass from Tiongson, Dyip ace rookie Stephen Holt tiptoed the baseline and found Go for a last-gasp triple try that left the Beermen faithful holding their breathe.
But Go’s high-arching shot bounced off the rim at the buzzer, allowing SMB to complete a come-from-behind win and stay unbeaten with a 5-0 mark, counting a 95-92 decision against Ginebra seven days back.
Terrafirma, which went into the tiff armed with a shocking 91-85 triumph over the Kings last Sunday, slipped to 4-4.
Beermen coach Jorge Gallent said the Dyip gave his charges fits but Tautuaa’s defensive brilliance in the endgame spelled the difference.
“From the start we were relaxed, and I was really scared of that because my players thought that Terrafirma would be easily beaten. But they’re not a pushover team anymore,” Gallent said. “It’s a team that will fight. We just needed stops in the end.
“Mo did a great job switching to Juami and defending him well, that’s why we won the game. I told the players that the only shot that will tie the game was the three-point shot.
They just had to defend it, which they did,” he added.
CJ Perez scattered a game-high 25 points laced with six rebounds for SMB, while Tautuaa also shone with 24 markers–17 of them coming in the fourth canto.
Tautuaa also had eight boards and four dimes, while Fajardo and Terrence Romeo added 20 and 16, respectively.
The Dyip zoomed to a 19-7 start and took a 54-45 lead at the halfway mark.
