Barroca hits game-winner as Magnolia goes up 3-2 vs SMB in chaos-marred Game 5 CUBAO, Philippines – The Magnolia Hotshots are on the brink of ending San Miguel's reign in the Philippine Cup after emerging victorious in a pivotal Game Five of the finals, 88-86, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Friday. The game was marred with chaos after an unknown fan dressed as Spider-Man charged into the court during the fourth quarter and hit SMB's June Mar Fajardo. Related Stories Man dressed as Spider-Man runs on court in PBA Finals Game 5 The scuffle resulted in a long ceasefire on the court as security personnel dragged the assailant out of the arena. After a strong start against the Beermen in the first half, Magnolia had to weather San Miguel's blistering 20-2 run in the third quarter that almost cost them the game. The Hotshots also survived a scare late in the game as Fajardo slowly picked up his game. Mark Barroca hit a buzzer-beater to give Magnolia the win. Barroca and Ian Sangalang paced the Hotshots in the crucial win. Meanwhile, hot-again Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos led the Beermen in the losing effort. Magnolia hopes to close out the series on Sunday while SMB face a do-or-die situation to keep their Philippine Cup dominance run alive.<doc-sep>There were major adjustments that San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria made in bowling over Magnolia, 114-98, in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-7 Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday night. Now that the series is tied, 2-all, it’s the Hotshots’ turn to reverse gears in Game 5, also at the Big Dome, tonight. In Game 4, San Miguel dictated the tempo from the start and didn’t allow Magnolia to set the terms of engagement with its defense. Before Wednesday’s battle, Magnolia had won two games in the Finals holding San Miguel to an average of 88 points and in the Beermen’s only win in the second meeting, the Hotshots gave up 108. Entering Game 4, Magnolia was No. 1 in points given up, 85.3, and field goal percentage allowed, 38.1, all conference long. Austria knew San Miguel had to win Game 4 or else. Going down 3-1 in the series would’ve been too deep a hole to crawl out of. In Game 3 which Magnolia won, 86-82, the Beermen were badly outrebounded, 71-46 and five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, who averaged 22.1 points in the eliminations, was held to 17. Magnolia also had more assists, 19-15, as Alex Cabagnot finished with none and Terrence Romeo with one, exposing Hotshots coach Chito Victolero’s focus to limit San Miguel’s ball movement. Austria reversed the trends in Game 4. San Miguel accomplished several firsts in Game 4 – things the Beermen hadn’t done in the previous three encounters, resulting in the resounding win. First, Christian Standhardinger logged 28:29 minutes and Fajardo 32:07 as Austria finally found a way to maximize their partnership on the court. In the first three contests, Standhardinger averaged 16:25 minutes and Fajardo, 36:41. Second, San Miguel shot 51.8 percent from the field, the first time in the series that the Beermen hit at least 50 percent – cracking Magnolia’s vaunted defensive armor. Third, San Miguel scored more points in the paint, 56-38 after the Hotshots dominated this statistic from Game 1. Fourth, San Miguel had more bench points, 39-24. Before Game 4, Magnolia averaged 36.7 bench points and the Beermen, 26. Fifth, San Miguel improved its shot selection, attacking the basket more for higher percentage attempts than jacking up three-pointers. The Beermen took 58 two-pointers and only 25 triples for a 70-30 ratio. In the first three contests, San Miguel’s ratio was 52-48 as the Beermen averaged 40.3 triple and 43.7 two-point tries. Sixth, San Miguel converted at least 40 field goals when the Beermen connected only 32 in Game 1, 35 in Game 2 and 28 in Game 3. In Game 4, San Miguel hit 43-of-83 field goals. And lastly, San Miguel attempted 58 two-point field goals compared to averaging 43.7 in the first three games. San Miguel worked its magic back in the fray with Cabagnot and Romeo dishing five dimes each. Fajardo was unstoppable with 31 points on 13-of-14 field goals and 5-of-6 free throws and even as the Kraken dominated the offense, five other Beermen scored in double figures – Romeo with 18, Chris Ross 15, Standhardinger 13, Arwind Santos 12 and Cabagnot 11. Instead of sitting at the low post waiting for the entry pass and being predictable, Fajardo was actively involved in screen-rolls, making it more difficult for Magnolia to throw a double or deny. Magnolia will make adjustments in Game 5 for sure. In Games 3 and 4, Victolero started with a small lineup, bringing out Justin Melton, Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon. The trick worked in Game 3 but not in Game 4 as San Miguel prepared to crank it up inside against a shorter alignment. In Game 5, Paul Lee will probably return as a starter. It’s vital for Lee to get his rhythm early. In Game 4, he came off the bench and scored only seven points, all in the third period. Rafi Reavis wasn’t as productive in Game 4 as in Game 3 where he produced 16 points and 15 rebounds. At 41, Reavis has to pace himself and preserve his energy for critical moments in a game, especially since he’s Fajardo’s primary defender. He’ll have to do much more in Game 5 than in Game 4. Magnolia made the tactical mistake of engaging San Miguel in a high-scoring shootout in Game 4. The lowest San Miguel scored in a quarter last Wednesday was 25 in the first period. For Magnolia to win, the Hotshots should try to limit San Miguel to 20 or less every quarter and make it a defense-oriented, low-scoring contest. San Miguel regained its bearings in Game 4. Will Magnolia do the same in Game 5?<doc-sep>MANILA, Philippines — With the tournament’s best playing his absolute best, San Miguel Beer squeezed out of a tight fix and evened up what’s become a back-and-forth PBA Philippine Cup title series with Magnolia. Hours after receiving his sixth Best Player of the Conference award, June Mar Fajardo dished out a monster game of 31 points built around a near perfect 13-of-14 shooting clip along with 14 rebounds to lift the Beermen to a series-tying 114-98 rout of the Hotshots last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The 6-foot-10 Fajardo made his first 10 attempts as he sparked San Miguel to a 61-47 spread in the third quarter that lay the foundation to the crucial win that made it 2-2 in the race-to-four series, where the protagonists had taken turns winning so far. Fajardo got a big helping hand from Terrence Romeo (18 points, five assists), Chris Ross (15 points), Christian Standhardinger (13 markers, 14 boards), Arwind Santos (12), and Alex Cabagnot (11) in picking up the equalizer and avoiding a deep 1-3 deficit. “This is the kind of game we’re looking for from the team. From start to finish, they sustained the energy,” said SMB coach Leo Austria. “It’s a team effort, everybody was so focused, even the players on the bench were cheering as they knew the importance of this game. This was a turning point because had we lost, we’d be in trouble (1-3).” “June Mar dominated the game, he had a high percentage shooting tonight and that’s the story of the game,” said Magnolia mentor Chito Victolero, whose wards gave up 56 points in the paint to the Fajardo-led Beermen. Guards Jio Jalalon and Mark Barroca led the scoring with 22 each for Magnolia. Already peerless with five straight BPC award in the all-Filipino last year, Fajardo further added to his legend by annexing No. 6 via a runaway total of 1165 points value built around 460 statistical points and points from nods from media (484), players (71) and the PBA (150). The gentle giant from Cebu beat out NorthPort’s Sean Anthony (641), TNT’s RR Pogoy (522) two other Batang Pier stalwarts, Stanley Pringle (473) and Mo Tautuaa (380) for the prestigious accolade. The scores: San Miguel 114 – Fajardo 31, Romeo 18, Ross 15, Standhardinger 13, Santos 12, Cabagnot 11, Lassiter 6, Rosser 3, Pessumal 3, Nabong 2. Magnolia 98 – Barroca 22, Jalalon 22, Sangalang 19, Reavis 9, Lee 7, Herndon 6, Dela Rosa 5, Calisaan 4, Melton 2, Brondial 2, Ramos 0, Pascual 0. Quarterscores: 25-27, 56-47, 87-77, 114-98.<doc-sep>
Mark Barroca nailed a baseline jumper as time expired to lift the Magnolia Hotshots past the San Miguel Beermen 88-86 in Game 5 of the Philippine Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday. Magnolia took possession with 13.2 seconds remaining and patiently worked the ball around before Rodney Brondial found Barroca in the left corner. Barroca pump-faked his way around Christian Standhardinger and hit the pull-up jumper as time expired. Barroca tied his series-best with 22 points, spiked by three triples to go with five rebounds, five assists. "I thank the Lord for giving me that chance," Barroca said. QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES - MAY 10, 2019: Mark Barroca hits the game-winner to lift Magnolia past San Miguel in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. KC Cruz/ESPN5 San Miguel's June Mar Fajardo struggled for most of the game before finding his touch in the late stretch. Magnolia was able to limit Fajardo's touches in the first half, limiting him to only four attempts and no field goals. Fajardo broke out with 13 points in the final quarter. He finished with 21 points and 22 rebounds. "You really cannot contain him the whole game. In the second half, he got a lot of offensive rebounds," Magnolia coach Chito Victolero said. Then Barroca happened. "We're not able to execute the last few possessions. There was a lot of drama. I hope next game we will come out with a lot of energy because it's going to be a do or die for us," Beermen coach Leo Austria said. Magnolia will attempt to end the Beermen's quest for a five-straight All-Filipino title on Sunday. THE SCORES MAGNOLIA 88 - Barroca 22, Sangalang 18, Lee 12, Jalalon 8, Reavis 8, Brondial 8, Dela Rosa 7, Melton 3, Pascual 2, Ramos 0. SAN MIGUEL 86 - Fajardo 21, Lassiter 20, Santos 18, Romeo 11, Standhardinger 8, Cabagnot 5, Ross 3, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Pessumal 0. Quarterscores: 27-18, 49-36, 69-63, 88-86. EXTRA DRIBBLES A costumed spectator ran onto the court with 3:06 remaining and bumped Fajardo at center court. Fajardo was shaken but did not come out of the game. In trying to stop Fajardo the whole game, Rafi Reavis and Kyle Pascual fouled out while Ian Sanglang and Rodney Brondial each had five fouls. NEXT GAME Game 6 on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Smart-Araneta Coliseum.