CALASIAO, Pangasinan - Kevin Murphy bled for his points in the first three quarters but came through at endgame as San Miguel Beer salvaged a 107-96 win over TNT KaTropa in their Petron Blaze road showdown at the Calasiao Sports Center here last night.
Murphy, held to 16 points in the first 44 minutes of play, exploded for 11 in the crunch, leading the way as the Beermen came from behind to stop the Texters and move two rungs up to sixth place at 4-4.
Christian Standhardinger, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross also played key roles as the Beermen scored a second straight win after a 117-100 thrashing of the Phoenix Fuel Masters on Oct. 12.
They try to stoke the fire of their back-to-back wins in chase of a quarters berth in their last three games against the NorthPort Batang Pier, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Meralco Bolts.
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TNT, meanwhile, dropped down to joint seventh with NLEX at 4-5.
Murphy found a good rhythm at the finish and even wound up with a near triple-double showing with 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.
TNT KaTropa import Marqus Blakely also had a near triple-double job with 26 markers, 18 boards and 8 dish-offs but faded away at the finish along with his teammates.
The Texters led most of the way even, enjoying an 11-point lead at 89-78 early in the fourth only to succumb at endgame.
The Texters were hit by bad breaks, including the early exit of RR Pogoy on a sprained ankle.
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Pogoy was among the players TNT rotated to defend against Murphy. On top of his efficient defense, Pogoy also put in 21 points and five rebounds.
But Pogoy had to be helped to their bench after twisting his right ankle badly after landing it on the foot of Blakely with 4:20 left in the game.
Murphy found Ross free underneath the basket in the ensuing play, and the Beermen seized the lead at 91-90.
Then Murphy and Ross sustained the momentum, with back-to-back treys by the two players capping a decisive 16-2 attack that opened a nine-point lead for SMB at 101-92 with time down to 1:22.
Standhardinger had his own solid all-around game with 21 markers, 13 boards, two assists, two blocks and one steal, Santos produced 18 points and five rebounds while Ross and Lassiter combined for 23 markers, 11 boards and six dish-offs.(SB)
The scores:
San Miguel 107 - Murphy 27, Standhardinger 21, Santos 18, Lassiter 13, Nabong 12, Ross 10, Cabagnot 6, De Ocampo 0, Heruela 0, Mamaril 0.
TNT 96 - Blakely 26, Pogoy 21, Romeo 18, Williams 11, Cruz 7, Trollano 6, Carey 4, Rosario 2, Garcia 1, Reyes 0, Paredes 0.
Quarters: 27-25, 50-54, 75-80, 107-96.
