Pingris shines as Beermen halt TnT

Wildcard survivor San Miguel Beer hasn't stopped to amaze, going 4-0 in knockout games in the All-Filipino tourney.

The Beermen again lived to fight another game, stalling the Talk n Text Tropang Texters' own finals bid with a stirring 125-115 win in Game Five of their KFC PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal showdown at the Astrodome Friday night.

Marc Pingris and Jay Washington both came through with a double-double game with five other Beermen putting in at least 10 points as they survived a fourth do-or-die setto dating back to the wildcard round.


"There's nothing miraculous there. We're just trying our best. We have no other choice," said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

The San Miguel mentor bared though that he had resorted to reading a Bible passage to his team as they're back on the brink of elimination.

"It somehow typifies our campaign. It says 'we have to rejoice in our sufferings as our sufferings produce perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope,'" said Tanquingcen.

And with the win, the Beermen remain hopeful they can survive the ordeal. They try to force a sudden death in Game Six set in the same venue Sunday.

San Miguel ducked Talk n Text's knockout attempt, beating the Texters in their own game -- up-tempo.

Pingris and Washington imposed their strength at the paint, getting the rebounds that fueled the Beermen's running game producing 25 fastbreak points as against the Texters' mere six.

Playing with tremendous will and determination, the Beermen seized control early and dominated the Texters, leading by as many as 19 points twice late in the third period.

The game became a little rugged towards the end with the Texters looking to rally. Yancy de Ocampo was ejected from the game in the last two minutes on a flagrant foul penalty 2 infraction on Danny Seigle.

Pingris led the Beermen with 28 points and 12 rebounds with Washington coming through with his own double-double game with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Beermen widely distributed production with Lordy Tugade and Seigle firing 14 apiece, Dondon Hontiveros adding 12, Bonbon Custodio chipping in 11 and Jonas Villanueva contributing 10.

Mark Cardona paced the Texters with 19 though he sat out a few minutes in the fourth after hurting his left leg in a collision with Hontiveros.

Pingris and Washington threw their weight around early, allowing the Beermen to dominate the first half ending at 66-51 in their favor.

Pingris was 6-of-8 from the field while Washington converted six of nine field-goal shots as they combined for 31 points that went with eight rebounds and two steals in the first 24 minutes of play.

The whole San Miguel team shot much better in the first half, hitting at a 54.4 percent clip as against Talk n Text's 38.8 percent marksmanship. (NC)

The scores:

San Miguel 125 - Pingris 28, Washington 19, Tugade 14, Seigle 14, Hontiveros 12, Custodio 11, Villanueva 10, Racela 9, Gonzales 5, Pennisi 3.

Talk N' Text 115 - Cardona 19, Dillinger 18, De Ocampo R. 17, ritualo 13, De Ocampo Y. 11, Castro 10, Carey 10, Peek 9, Alapag 8, Reyes 0, Lao 0.

Quarterscores: 30-25, 66-51, 93-74, 125-115.



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