PBA-DL: Big Chill shakes off Fruitas in OT to advance to semis

The Big Chill Super Chargers completed their upset bid against the Fruitas Shakers with an 89-83 come-from-behind victory in overtime, Thursday at the Blue Eagle Gym, dispatching of their rivals' twice-to-beat advantage to enter the semifinals of the 2013 PBA-DL Foundation Cup.

Playing behind for most of the game, the Super Chargers hung tough until Mar Villahermosa rescued them with a game-tying three to force overtime. Villahermosa and Terrence Romeo then sank crucial triples in overtime to get the victory.

Last Tuesday, the Super Chargers forced this loser-go-home match via a 77-72 victory over the Shakers.

The Fruitas Shakers used a huge second quarter run to control the ball game but Big Chill stepped up their play in the third and fourth quarters. They faced a lead that reached 15 points, but managed to chip away at it until they finally tied the ball game at the end of the fourth quarter.

The Shakers had a shot at icing the game but Roger Pogoy missed on two free throw attempts. With 5.7 seconds left in regulation, the Super Chargers went to Villahermosa who responded by sinking a long triple to tie the ball game and send it to overtime.

"Yung last play before overtime, it was a well-executed play," said Big Chill head coach Robert Sison. "What's important in the playoffs is you execute. Nung overtime nabuhayan si Mac Montilla but Mar Villahermosa was a revelation in this game."

In the game's extra five minutes, Big Chill kept on attacking a reeling Fruitas team.

Janus Lozada scored down low with 3:14 left in the overtime period to give Big Chill a one-point lead. Jeckster Apinan added another basket to make it 81-78 for the Super Chargers.

Villahermosa, the hero of the fourth period, sank a corner three to double Big Chill's lead with only 1:29 left in the game. Fruitas halved that thanks to Pong Escobal and Jonathan Semira, but Terrence Romeo banked in a dagger triple as their shot clock expired for an 87-81 advantage with only 27 seconds left, putting the game away for Big Chill.

"When overtime came, alam ko na na sa amin na yung momentum. The players never stopped believing in the system," said the victorious coach Sison after the ball game.

Romeo and Apinan top-scored for Big Chill with 20 points each, while veterans Janus Lozada and Mark Canlas added 16 and 12 markers, respectively.

"Terrence Romeo learned how to share the ball in this game," Sison elaborated. "Naging decoy siya kasi yung depensa ng Fruitas naka-focus sa kanya." The FEU Tam scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime period.

The two teams' premiere scorers scored the game's first five points. Terrence Romeo opened things with a baseline jumper, while Carlo Lastimosa scored a free throw and a banker for 3-2 count in favor of Fruitas.

Baskets came few and far apart in the middle of the the first as the score only stood at 7-6 in favor of Fruitas with 4:03 left. Pong Escobal finally ended the field goal drought at the three-minute mark as he connected with a three for Fruitas. Jeckster Apinan however replied with a basket underneath to cut the Fruitas lead down to just two points at 10-8.

After Big Chill knotted the game at 10-all, Escobal connected with another triple for a 13-10 advantage. However, Big Chill took the lead with back-to-back fast break lay-ups from Janus Lozada and Jeckster Apinan for a 14-13 Big Chill lead at the end of the first quarter.

Lozada scored the first five points of the second quarter for Big Chill. However, the Shakers doubled their intensity on defense as they double-teamed Romeo at every opportunity. Escobal then made back-to-back three's to give Fruitas a 36-25 lead.

Lastimosa added to their advantage with a lay-up off a pass from Christian Sentcheu. Arvie Bringas finally stopped the bleeding for Big Chill as he sank a mid-range jumper with only 26 seconds left in the second quarter. Roger Pogoy however scored on a baseline jumper to give Fruitas a 40-27 lead at the end of the first half.

After scoring only 13 points in the first quarter, Fruitas exploded for 27 in the second.

Escobal led all scorers with 12 points at the half, shooting 4-of-4 from deep. Terrence Romeo led Big Chill with nine markers but he had to work hard for every single point as the Fruitas defense was centered on him.


Wanting to change the rhythm of the game, Big Chill employed a full-court press to stymie the Fruitas offense. Mark Canlas and Quinton Heruela combined for three straight triples for Big Chill to slice the Fruitas lead down to eight points at 46-38, but Anjo Caram bumped it up to 11 points anew with his own triple.

"We made adjustments sa defense namin," Sison said after the game. "We pressured them para hindi sila maka set-up." This change allowed the Super Chargers to shackle the Shakers' offense.

The Super Chargers also gave themselves a hand by consistently making their three's. Canlas added another triple followed by a conversion from Lozada to trim the Fruitas lead down to eight at 58-50.

Mar Villahermosa added yet another long-range bomb for Big Chill to end the third quarter, giving his team a shot at a come from behind victory. Heading into the fourth period, Fruitas held just a 63-55 lead.

Big Chill slowly chipped away, and with only 4:33 left in the canto, Romeo sank a difficult baseline jumper to trim the Fruitas buffer down to just five points at 69-64.

Back-to-back baskets then from Bringas and Lozada got Big Chill to within a basket at 70-68 with still 3:20 left in the fourth.

Pogoy got a crucial put-back off his own miss to extend the Fruitas lead to four at 72-68 with only 1:59 left in the game. He then added an and-one play with 1:06 left for a 75-69 count in favor of Fruitas.

Big Chill forced a stop, which led to an Apinan fast break lay-up for a 75-72 count in favor of Fruitas. The Shakers turned the ball over with 23.9 seconds left to give the Super Chargers a shot at sending the game into overtime, which they took full advantage off.

Fruitas was without big man Russell Escoto who injured his MCL in the second quarter of the first game.

The higher-seeded Shakers had more rebounds, assists, and steals, but they failed to get the win as they only scored 12 points in the final period. When all they had to do was take care of the lead, the Shakers shot an atrocious 5-of -5 from the field to allow Big Chill to sneak back into the game.

The best of three semifinals will start on May 28, Tuesday, also at the Blue Eagle Gym. At 2pm it will be Big Chill versus top-ranked NLEX. At 4pm, Boracay rum will lock horns with second-seed Blackwater Sports. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Big Chill 89: Romeo 20, Apinan 20, Lozada 16, Canlas 12, Villahermosa 9, Montilla 5, Bringas 4, Heruela 3, Dumapig 0, Santos 0

Fruitas 83: Escobal 18, Pogoy 14, Cruz 12, Caram 8, Colina 8, Antonio 6, Mendoza 5, Lastimosa 5, Semira 4, Tolomia 2, Sentcheu 1

Quarter scoring: 14-13, 27-40, 55-63, 75-75, 89-83