San Miguel keeps rolling after surviving Blackwater in OT

San Miguel endured tense moments in the final minute but hung on to down Blackwater in overtime, 90-88, in the PBA’s first-ever morning game in league history Tuesday at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena and Cultural Center.

Ahead by just one in the final 16 seconds, the Beermen prevented three game-winning tries from Mike Tolomia, Ron Dennison and Don Trollano to cling to their fourth straight win in the Philippine Cup.

Von Pessumal later split his free throws in the final four seconds, then Mike Tolomia missed a halfcourt heave to seal the win for San Miguel, now third in the standings at 5-2.

“It’s an ugly game but we loved it, because as long as we’re winning, there’s no problem with it,” head coach Leo Austria said after the game. “We kept on adjusting because this is an unusual thing for everybody. But I’m happy and we’re lucky to get this W.”

Mo Tautuaa bucked a night filled with turnovers — he had eight of the team’s 22 — and led all scorers with 26 points while adding 14 rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block for good measure. Marcio Lassiter added 12 and six boards, Alex Cabagnot had 11-8-8, while Pessumal finished with 10.

“It’s just getting that continuity with our teammates. We’re starting to get more comfortable with each other. That’s it. It shows in the game,” Tautuaa said during the walk-off interview. “Like I said earlier, it’s not me, it’s the whole team. And today I was struggling, but my teammates made sure to keep my head in the game because I need to be there. It’s all about the team right now. This bubble’s tough so it’s not just one person, always it’s all of us.”

Team W L TNT 5 1 Rain or Shine 4 1 San Miguel 5 2 Ginebra 4 2 Alaska 5 3 Phoenix 5 3 Meralco 3 3 Magnolia 2 4 Blackwater 2 4 NLEX 2 5 NorthPort 1 4 TerraFirma 0 6 As of Nov. 3, 3:45 pm

SMB and Blackwater had chances to win in all in regulation but came up empty on both their attempts. Cabagnot’s pull-up jumper for a game-winner rattled in and out in the final two seconds, then a Diego Dario heave in the last1.2 hit nothing but the top of the backboard.

In the extra period, a KG Canaleta three and a Jon Jon Gabriel free throw got things going for an Elite team that went up four before five straight from Chris Ross, capped by a wide-open layup on the break, helped San Miguel climb on top, 89-99, with 1:14 left in the game.

Two Ross turnovers, however, kept the door open for Blackwater, which also fumbled an inbound in the final 37 seconds before getting an opportunity to win it all off a timeout in the last 16.

“It was close. I give credit to the players. Even though it was really hard for them to wake up earlier and play an official game, because of their commitment we’re able to (pull off the win),” Austria said.

Getting the win proved to be a little trickier for the Beermen, who had to adjust their sleeping schedules to play an unprecedented 10 a.m tip-off against a well-rested Elite team that had 12 days off due to a temporary schedule suspension.

“Some of the players, especially if there’s a game, usually they sleep at 11 to 12 because they know in the next 18 hours, they can sleep up to lunch. But now, they can’t because they have to wake up at 6 o’clock to prepare, because some of the players have their own rituals, and that’s the problem. But I told them, ‘Your mindset is really important,'” said Austria. “It was really tough for us this morning. This is the first time an official game was played in the morning. But we had to do it because of the circumstances.”

Mo Tautuaa led all scorers with 26 points in San Miguel’s fifth win of the PBA Philippine Cup. PBA Media Group

The Beermen looked a bit sluggish out of the gates and fell behind 10 twice against the Elite in the first half before tying it at 44 during the break thanks to a strong effort in the second quarter.

Blackwater later got eight straight points from Tolomia to go up 49-41 early in the third, but SMB came alive and saw Lassiter and Pessumal fire three straight triples for a 9-0 swing to put the Beermen up front 64-57 with 1:04 left. A Beermen zone also kept Blackwater to just 26.1 percent shooting during that stretch.

Ed Daquioag, however, kept Blackwater alive by putting the team on his back in the fourth quarter, where he scored 15 of his team-high 20 points. A triple in the final 1:20 of regulation tied it at 84, but he blew a chance to put his team ahead in the final 26 seconds after failing to get a whistle on a drive to the hoop against a stiff San Miguel defense. That later led to possessions by Cabagnot and Dario in the clutch.

Austria said the team hardly batted an eye on the minutes played by his starters, saying the focus was on the game at hand instead of managing their minutes for a quick turnaround on Thursday. Tautuaa (45) and Lassiter (42) played 40-plus minutes for San Miguel, while Santos and Cabagnot logged 39 each. Another player in Ross breached the 36-minute mark.

“I was able to extend the minutes of the players because this game was really important for us. We didn’t think of the other game because this win might bring us to the playoffs,” said Austria. “Virtually we treated this schedule just like a practice game at 10. But we were really worried because Blackwater’s been out for 12 days, they had a lot of energy. But I’m so thankful the players responded. They knew the importance of this game.”

The plan now for San Miguel is “to manage our recovery,” said Austria.

“The X and O’s, it’s not really important right now. What’s important for them in 24 hours is for them to get back to having the right energy, because we know our next opponent is Phoenix, a very energetic team. So we have to manage our players’ bodies,” he continued.

For Blackwater, Tolomia added 17 but shot just 7-for-22 from the field, while Trollano and Frank Golla threw in 10 each. The Elite are set to play their second game of a back-to-back Wednesday against the Meralco Bolts.

THE SCORES

San Miguel (90) — Tautuaa 26, Lassiter 12, Cabagnot 11, Pessumal 10, Santos 9, Ross 8, Gamalinda 5, Zamar 4, Mamaril 3, Escoto 2, Comboy 0.

Blackwater (88) — Daquioag 20, Tolomia 17, Trollano 10, Golla 10, Canaleta 8, Dennison 7, Salem 6, Escoto 5, Gabriel 3, Sumang 2, Dario 0, Shaw 0, Magat 0.

Quarters: 20-27, 41-41, 66-59, 84-84, 90-88.

EXTRA DRIBBLES

– Blackwater, which played without Mac Belo and Paul Desiderio against the Beermen, shot just 33.7 percent from the field.

– Maurice Shaw, the second overall pick of the 2019 Rookie Draft, played just his third game and recorded only one turnover in eight minutes.

– San Miguel had a 67-54 edge on the glass. Cabagnot and Bambam Gamalinda had four offensive rebounds each.

NEXT GAMES

– Blackwater vs. Meralco on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m

– San Miguel vs. Phoenix on Thursday, Nov. 5 at 6:45 p.m