Basketball
Simon, Yap rally B-MEG over Rain or Shine
Peter June Simon knocked down the game-winning jumper from the left elbow with 21.7 seconds left to lift B-Meg to a gut-wrenching 99-98 come-from-behind squeaker over Rain or Shine in the opening day of the semifinals of the 2011 PBA Governor’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Down by a point with under 30 ticks left, Simon curled off a screen and caught the ball at the top of the key before dribbling hard to his right and connecting on the tough pull-up jumper with a defender right in his face to give the Llamados the lead.
In the ensuing play, Arizona Reid’s jumper with three seconds remaining did not hit the mark, enabling B-MEG to come away with the win in the highly-competitive and intense contest.
Before Simon’ money jumper, Reid sank a three-pointer with 31.9 seconds left to put the Elasto Painters in the driver seat, 98-97.
B-MEG won its second straight game and improved to a 5-4 win-loss record to tie Alaska at fourth place, while the setback was costly for Rain or Shine as it fell to 4-5 for sixth.
The Llamados trailed for most of the game before pulling off a second half surge to salvage the win.
“First of all, we didn’t play well in the first half,” said B-MEG coach Jorge Gallent. “We played selfishly. Come second half, we played as a team. It’s great that the team didn’t give up. It’s a great team win, everybody did their part.”
Simon may have hit the game-winner but it was scoring partner James Yap that allowed B-MEG to close in and have a shot at the end. Yap scored six crucial points in the final four minutes to help the Llamados keep in step with the Painters.
The two-time Most Valuable Player finished with a team-high 23 points while debuting import Myron Allen had 18 points.
It seemed like Rain or Shine was cruising to a victory when it led by 17 points halfway into the third quarter, but B-MEG came back and finished the period with a 23-10 blast that cut the lead to four, 71-75, heading into the fourth quarter.
The Llamados took the lead for the first since the first period at 89-87 after Marc Pingris’ lay-up with 3:45 left. It was a tight race until the final buzzer from there.
Simon and Joe Devance each added 17 markers while Pingris had another double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for B-MEG.
Reid finished with a remarkable game-high of 41 points, but needed 38 shots to reach his total, while note getting enough help in the second half from his teammates.
The scores:
B-MEG 99 – Yap J. 23, Allen 18, Devance 17, Simon 17, Pingris 10, Allado 8, Yap R. 4, Urbiztondo 2, Gaco 0, Reavis 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 98 – Reid 41, Buenafe 12, Chan 10, Vanlandingham 7, Norwood 7, Belga 6, Arana 6, Tang 5, Ibanes 4, Jazul 0, Cruz 0, Rodriguez 0, Kramer 0.
QUARTERS: 19-23, 39-54, 71-75, 99-98
