By Nelson Beltran Updated July 16, 2009 12:00 AM
MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer is a team with so much class and character it won’t just roll over and die.
The Beermen preserved last night the yours-and-mine trend in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference finale, getting back at the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 98-84, for the third time to force a deciding Game Seven tomorrow.
Gabe Freeman and his teammates fought with a firm resolve, stalling Ginebra’s bid and keeping alive their own aspiration much to the disappointment of the predominantly Ginebra crowd of over 16,000 at the Araneta Coliseum.
The two teams fight for all the marbles at 7 p.m. tomorrow in the same venue.
For the record, Ginebra is 2-0 in a Game Seven. San Miguel is 2-4, losing their last three do-or-die settos.
“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.
Freeman churned out 24 points and 12 rebounds for his 21st triple-double job in the tourney — the most by any player.
Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez and Dondon Hontiveros all contributed at least 11 points each as the Beermen broke away in the second quarter and held on to the finish, forging the 3-3 deadlock in the best-of-seven series.
Tanquingcen said defense and rebounds keyed them to the series-tying win. Uichico, on the other hand, said they lost the game as they couldn’t convert their shots.
The Kings shot only 39.7 percent from the field with main man Jayjay Helterbrand – hurting with a hamstring injury – 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 in the period, including seven
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