San Miguel rallies and holds off Ginebra for 69-68 win

San Miguel rallies and holds off Ginebra for 69-68 win

by rick olivares

October 17, 2010

Araneta Coliseum

Ato Agustin has been around the game for so long that he knows it’s never over until it’s over.

In his first game as head coach for his former club where he won MVP honors in 1992, the San Miguel Beermen found themselves staring at 46-31 hole dug by sister team Ginebra after 24 minutes of play. Although the Beermen ended the first half with two consecutive triples by Jay Washington and Arwind Santos to bring a 21-lead down, they were precisely that. Down.

As it is with all Ginebra and San Miguel clashes, this was match was white hot. And in the games first half, the Kings were scorching as Willie Miller scored and Mark Caguioa scored 18 and eight respectively.

During the half, Agustin calmed his troops and to be a little more patient on offense. On the defensive end, Agustin threw a little box and one on the Kings with Alex Cabagnot, Paul Artadi, and Joseph Yeo shadowing Ginebra’s ball carriers and forcing others to get the offense going. The strategy worked as San Miguel blanked Ginebra during a five-minute stretch in the mid-third as the Beermen outscored their rivals 28-9 and overtake them for a 59-55 lead.

While Beermen Arwind Santos and Dorian Peña combined for 18 points in that fiery third quarter rally, it was longtime point guard Olsen Racela who effectively brought San Miguel back into the fight. Racela hit for two baskets and passed off for another two assists as he brought stability to their offense.

“You all saw why Olsen Racela is still playing in this league,” said Agustin of the 40-year old guard who joined the league in 1993 and has been with San Miguel since 1997. “He doesn’t need to put up a lot of points anymore but what he does is lead the team.”

And it was a lead San Miguel would not relinquish as they held off repeated rallies by Ginebra.

The Kings shot 43.2% in the first half but misfired in the final 24 minutes of play as they managed only 21 points to the Beermen’s 38.

However, these Kings channeled the old never-say-die spirit and came within a hairline of winning the game but the ball rolled off Willie Miller’s foot in their final offensive with 6.3 seconds left as San Miguel won 69-68.

Miller finished with 19 points but only mustered a bucket in the last half. Ronald Tubid was the only other King in double figures with 10 points.

With the victory, SMB climbed to a 2-1 record while GSM fell to 1-2 in the Philippine Cup.

San Miguel 69 – Santos 20, Washington 13, Cabagnot 11, Peña 7, Pennisi 5, Racela 4, Hontiveros 4, Yeo 3, Artadi 2, Tugade 0

Ginebra 68 – Miller 19, Tubid 10, Caguioa 8, De Ocampo 6, Hatfield 5, Aquino 4, Wilson 4, Villanueva 4, Cortez 4, Intal 2, Helterbrand 2, Mamaril 0

Notes: Agustin is the sixth former league MVP to coach a team after Robert Jaworski, William Adornado, Ramon Fernandez, Allan Caidic, and Kenneth Duremdes. If you’ve been watching Agustin coach since he made his debut with San Sebastian over a year ago, his teams mostly play man-to-man. “Yun ang nakasanayan ko, eh.” He says. But in his last two games as a coach – with San Miguel and San Sebastian, his teams briefly employed a man-zone that enabled his squads to catch up in the game. There were six former San Miguel Beermen sitting on either side of the bench during the game: For SMB, it was Agustin, Hector Calma, and Pido Jarencio; for GSM, it was Samboy Lim, Allan Caidic, and Siot Tanquincen. Of course, GSM head coach Jong Uichico was with SMB as a head coach and assistant head coach.