ANTIPOLO — San Miguel Beer survived a late comeback by Terrafirma to post a 109-104 victory on Saturday at the Ynares Center and remain unbeaten in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
George King scored 37 points, grabbed 14 rebounds and had three steals to lead the Beermen, who improved their record in Group A.
San Miguel appeared headed for a comfortable win after building a 21-point lead in the second quarter and taking a 66-46 advantage into halftime.
Terrafirma erased the deficit behind import Justin Strings and Juami Tiongson, who played against San Miguel for the first time since being traded for Jerrick Ahanmisi after the Commissioner’s Cup.
Tiongson gave the Dyip a 104-101 lead with a three-pointer with one minute remaining. However, two turnovers by Tiongson allowed King to score on consecutive possessions, including two free throws and a basket, as San Miguel regained the lead, 105-104, with nine seconds remaining.
Terrafirma failed to score on its final two possessions, allowing the Beermen to secure the win. The Dyip dropped to 1-3 after their third straight defeat following a comeback attempt.
“We’re still trying to find our chemistry. And luckily, we have a long season ahead of us,” King said. “But in order for us to build chemistry, to build team character, we have to go through games like this.”
King credited Terrafirma’s comeback, particularly the performances of Tiongson and Strings, and said the game provided valuable experience for San Miguel.
In Sunday’s games at Smart Araneta Coliseum, Barangay Ginebra opens its campaign against Phoenix at 7:30 p.m. with Riley Grigsby replacing the injured Justin Brownlee. Phoenix will debut newly acquired Gian Mamuyac.
Commissioner’s Cup champion TNT will face Macau in the 5:15 p.m. opener but will be without several injured players.