SAN MIGUEL FORCES GAME 7

San Miguel Beer is a proud ball club which won't just fade away in a battle.

The Beermen fought with great resolve with their one foot in the grave, stalling the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 98-84, and forging a deciding Game Seven in their Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference title showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

Gabe Freeman and his teammates frustrated the Kings and their huge throngs, pulling off an emphatic win to bring the best-of-seven series to full distance.

One goes home with the championship and the other the runner-up trophy as the two teams clash in a do-or-die setto at 7 p.m. Friday in the same venue.

Ginebra has a perfect record in two Game Seven engagements. San Miguel, on the other hand, is 2-4, losing their last three outings.

"We haven't done anything yet because we just tied the series. God put us in the situation to test us. It's how we respond to adversity. That would define us as an individual and as a team," said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

"It didn't happen tonight and we now have to do it Friday. It's a jump ball. A 50-50 percent chance of winning isn't bad at all," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

The Beermen battled with a resolute defense and a massive offense as they seized control in the second period and held on to the finish.

"Hindi sila maka-convert and we really had a hand in practically all their shots. It boiled down to defense and rebounding tonight," said Tanquingcen.

"Plain and simple, we failed to convert our shots," said Uichico.

Freeman went 9-of-13 from the field and finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds for his 21st triple-double game -- the most by any player in the tourney.

Making the job easier for the Beermen was Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez, Dondon Hontiveros, Jonas Villanueva, Jay Washington, Marc Pingris and Mick Pennisi all rising to the occasion.

The Beermen shot better from the field and dominated the boards as they got back at the Kings for the third time, thus, preserving the yours-and-mind trend in the series.

The Kings shot only 39.7 percent from the field with main man Jayjay Helterbrand among those doing bad, going 0-of-5 from the three-point arc and 4-of-5 from the two-point zone.

The Beermen cut loose from a see-sawing contest towards the end of the first half, racing to a 13-point lead before settling for a 44-34 spread at the turn.

The two teams both came out playing with great determination, fighting through nine lead changes before the Beermen established control.

Hontiveros sank two triples, highlighting a 16-2 salvo that opened a 44-31 advantage for the Beermen.

Sunday Salvacion made it a more manageable deficit for the Kings as he rifled in a trey coming off the bench in the closing seconds of the first half.

The Kings were ahead at 29-28 before going on a dry spell, making only five points in the last five minutes of the opening half.

The Beermen broke away while shooting 47.4 percent in the second period. The Kings, on the other hand, struggled with a 28.6-percent clip in that stretch.

SMB closed the half with a spirited run despite Freeman on the bench with three fouls.

Freeman, however, had his hand as the Beermen stretched their lead to 15 at 61-46 midway through the third. The fiery SMB import tossed in 12 points in the period, including seven straight through a three-pointer and back-to-back slams. (NC)

The scores:

San Miguel 98 - Freeman 24, Ildefonso 18, Cortez 12, Hontiveros 11, Villanueva 9, Washington 8, Pingris 6, Pennisi 5, Pena 3, Racela 2, Custodio 0.

Ginebra 84 - Noel 16, Menk 15, Tubid 13, Pacana 9, Helterbrand 8, Wilson 7, Salvacion 6, Reavis 6, Lanete 2, Baguio 2, Artadi 0, Mamaril 0.

Quarterscores: 17-19, 44-34, 68-61, 98-84

SOURCE: http://www.pba.ph/topstories/san-miguel-forces-game-7