Arwind Santos provided a huge lift off the bench as the San Miguel Beermen rallied from a 15-point deficit to turn back TNT KaTropa, 111-102, and nab a pivotal 3-2 edge in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup finals Friday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
Santos finished with 27 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and two steals as he energized the Beermen with his relentless defense which San Miguel badly needed after a lethargic first half.
Alex Cabagnot scored 28 points to top-score for San Miguel which also got 20 points and 14 rebounds from Charles Rhodes and 17 markers from Marcio Lassiter.
Chris Ross had a double-double of 10 points and 11 assists while June Mar Fajardo only had nine points and five boards as coach Leo Austria opted to sit him out for the entire fourth quarter in favor of a smaller and quicker lineup that worked well for them.
San Miguel can close out the series in Game Six on Sunday as it aims to win its second straight title this season.
TNT established a 61-46 halftime lead after a blistering 11-2 finishing kick to the first half where KaTropa enjoyed a 19-point explosion from Ranidel De Ocampo.
But Santos sparked San Miguel in the third frame, igniting an 11-0 run that helped the Beermen come back in the game. A triple by Ross handed them an 82-79 lead heading into the final frame.
“The Spiderman” also handcuffed De Ocampo, holding him scoreless in the second half as TNT had a hard time countering San Miguel’s pressure defense that resulted to costly KaTropa turnovers.
The Beermen led 107-96 with over two minutes left but their sloppy ballhandling allowed TNT to score six unanswered points and come to within five points.
Santos however put the nail in the coffin with a layup with 35 seconds left.
