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| Marcus Blakely is pumped after a big slam in B-Meg's playoff win over Ginebra. |
B-MEG LLAMADOS over BGY. GINEBRA KINGS, 74-72
Better to be lucky than good, right? No? Go ask PJ Simon.
Better yet, watch this:
And with Mark Caguioa and the Gin Kings out of the way, the 2012 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals is set with the Llamados taking on the surprise package of the tourney – the Rain or Shine Elasto-Painters. This promises to be a barn-burner!
Game Report:
Peter June Simon was at the right place at the right time, scoring a putback off a broken play with 2.5 seconds left to lift the B-MEG Llamados to a tense 74-72 win over the Barangay Ginebra Kings at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum on Friday night.
The victory sealed a second straight championship berth for the Llamados, as they face the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the Governors’ Cup finals that begins on Sunday.
Simon came from the weak side, tipped the ball in off a missed jumper from import Marqus Blakely.
Ginebra had one last shot, but Kerby Raymundo missed a three-pointer at the buzzer that would have won the game.
“I drew it all up,” joked B-MEG coach Tim Cone moments after the victory. “I called a play for Marqus to throw up a shot and PJ to come from the weak side to put it back in.
“But really, it was pure luck.”
Turning serious, Cone said he is looking forward to being in a series again.
“I’m glad the semis is over. We were looking forward to advancing because playing in this single-round semifinals is really difficult. You only have a day to adjust and you’re facing different opponents.
“At least in the finals, it’s going to be a seven-game series. You have time to figure out your opponent and make some necessary adjustments.”
As expected, the do-or-die match was a tightly-fought encounter. Until the final moments of the game, B-MEG was teetering on the brink of defeat.
KG Canaleta hit a game-tying three-pointer, with 1:58 left that leveled the count at 72-all. That shot was made from deep corner with only two seconds left on the shot clock.
It was a shot that came off a broken play, a crucial play that was contested by Cone because –
“In my 23 years of coaching in the PBA, it’s the first time I’ve heard of a rule that a player should have control of the ball first before the clock ticks,” said Cone. “All I know is that once a player receives the ball, the secondz start ticking. KG took a few seconds before getting the shot off.”
BML 74 – Blakely 22, Yap 16, Simon 11, De Ocampo 8, Pingris 7, Barroca 5, Urbiztondo 3, Reavis 2, Villanueva 0.
GIN 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.
QS: 23-19, 41-36, 58-57, 74-72.
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| Cedric Bozeman's great night went down the drain as the Kings lost in the final seconds. |
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| The Llamados celebrate after securing a Championship date with the Elasto-Painters. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Reynaldo Belen.)
Images: All images are from InterAKTV. (Photo credit to Paolo Papa and Paul Ryan Tan)
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