PBA: PJ Simon put-back sends B-MEG to the Governors' Cup Finals

(Updated 9:39pm) The B-MEG Llamados drew a clutch second-chance make from Peter June Simon to lift them to the Finals of the 2012 PBA Governors Cup with a 74-72 win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings, Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum

"This felt like a game 7 against Ginebra. It's gratifying when you worked that hard. To win it makes the win a lot sweeter," said B-MEG head coach Tim Cone.

The Kings held a slim lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter before back-to-back baskets from B-MEG gave the Llamados the lead, 9-8.

A Marqus Blakely triple made it 21-13 for B-MEG, before Cedric Bozeman hit four free throws to cut the deficit to four, 23-19, to end the period.

In the second, the Llamados hit six straight to post its largest lead, 29-19, but the Kings responded with a 10-3 run of their own to cut the lead to three, 32-29.

James Yap then snapped out of his slump, hitting a fadeaway and a three, 37-31. With 42 seconds left in the first half, Kerby Raymundo hacked a driving Yap on the face, resulting in a shooting foul for two free throws. Down 10, Ginebra would end the quarter strong, as a JJ Helterbrand baseline jumper followed by a Cedric Bozeman buzzer-beating three brought the lead back to five at the end of the half, 41-36.

Yap was still on fire though at the onset of the third, hitting a triple to put the lead back up to eight, 52-44, before Ginebra strung together eight straight to bring the lead down to one, 52-51 with 4:23 remaining.

A technical foul on Ginebra head coach Siot Tangquincen for violently reacting to a non-call gave B-MEG an extra point, but a Bozeman three with 2:18 remaining finally gave Ginebra the lead, 54-43. The Kings then drew a technical foul from Rafi Reavis, giving them another bonus look from the free throw line.

Shortly after, Mark Caguioa continued to sizzle, hitting another jumper that made it 57-53. But it was B-MEG which would end the quarter stronger, as a Yap jumper off a Pingris screen and a Simon leaner off a crossover on Enrico Villanueva with four seconds remaining gave B-MEG back the lead going into the fourth, 58-57.

The final period was one of several lead changes, with neither team getting ahead by more than one in the first seven minutes, before a Marqus Blakely baseline slam from Jonas Villanueva made it 72-69.

The Llamados played tough defense on the other end, leaving Ginebra two seconds to put up a shot with 2:01 remaining. After a timeout, the Kings would lean on Niño Canaleta to hit a baseline three to tie it up at 72-all.

With 43 seconds left in the game, Ginebra drained much of the clock, opting for a Kerby Raymundo three. Raymundo missed, giving B-MEG 22 seconds to set up for the win. Llamados head coach Tim Cone then called for a time out with 16.9 remaining.

The result was a Blakely drive to the baseline for a jumper that missed, but PJ Simon collared the offensive rebound for a put-back to put B-MEG on top, 74-72, with 2.5 seconds remaining.

In their last attempt, Ginebra found difficulty with the inbounds, leaving Raymundo to take two pump fakes and a well-defended three which resulted in an air ball.

"We're winning by the skin of our teeth," added Coach Cone. "[The] PBA's hard. [It was] pure luck PJ is in the right place at the right time.

"When I saw that jump shot go up, I knew we were going to overtime. Thankfully, the three-pointer by Kerby didn't go in."
 
Marcus Blakely played all but one minute of the game and led B-MEG with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and five blocks. James Yap poured in 16 markers and PJ Simon added 11 more, as the two guards each also tallied five boards.

Cedric Bozeman, Blakely's counterpart on the Ginebra squad topped the scoring list with 27 points. Mark Caguioa chimed in 14 on 7-of-26 shooting, while Nino Canaleta was a big factor late, hitting two corner triples on route to nine points.

B-MEG held a big advantage from the charity stripe, making 26-of-35, as compared to just 17-of-24 for Ginebra.

The Llamados will now prepare for Game One of the Finals, scheduled on Sunday, where they'll face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who sent them to this playoff against Ginebra with a 92-82 drubbing last Wednesday.

"Admittedly, they're a tough matchup for us. [Jamelle] Cornley is a tough matchup for us. We're gonna need big games from our guards; we gotta be creative and figure out mismatches. I think over seven games we're gonna figure them out," Cone said of his team's Finals foes. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

B-MEG 74 - Blakely 22, Yap 16, Simon 11, De Ocampo 8, Pingris 7, Barroca 5, Urbiztondo 3, Reavis 2, Villanueva 0.

Ginebra 72 - Bozeman 27, Caguioa 14, Canaleta 9, Raymundo 7, Hatfield 6, Villanueva 3, Ababou 2, W. Wilson 2, Helterbrand 2, Maierhofer 0, Mamaril 0, Cortez 0.

Quarter scoring: 23-19, 41-36, 58-57, 74-72.