PBA: Mo Tautuaa saves the day as San Miguel escapes Terrafirma

Mo Tautuaa came up big in the endgame to rescue San Miguel against a gallant and upset-seeking Terrafirma, 113-110, as the Beermen kept their unbeaten slate going in the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday.

The 6-foot-8 big man finished with 24 points, but none bigger than the five points he buried down the stretch that lifted the Beermen to their fifth win in as many games while the Dyip fell to 4-4. Tautuaa also grabbed eight rebounds, four assists, and a steal off the bench. 

Holding on to a slim 108-107 lead, the Beermen extended their cushion to four after Tautuaa knocked down a rare triple off an assist from fellow bruiser June Mar Fajardo in the final 1:34. 

Isaac Go, though, responded with a long bomb of his own following an offensive rebound from him to make it a one-point ballgame with only 42 ticks left. 

Tautuaa initially missed another attempt from downtown, but Marcio Lassiter secured the rebound that led to another dish from Fajardo to Tautuaa, who would complete the dagger layup. 

Go went wide on a potential game-tying triple.

CJ Perez led the offense with 25 points on top of six rebounds, five assists, and one block while Fajardo tallied a huge double-double effort of 20 markers and 17 boards laced with six dimes, one block, and one steal. 

Go and Javi Gomez de Liaño finished with 21 points each while Juami Tiongson churned out 24 points but their efforts went for naught as Terrafirma fell short of pulling off another major upset. The Dyip were coming off a huge 91-85 stunner against Barangay Ginebra. 

Scores:

San Miguel 113 – Perez 25, Tauatua 24, Fajardo 20, Romeo 16, Cruz 9, Manuel 7, Lassiter 6, Trollano 5, Ross 1, Enciso 0, Teng 0.

Terrafirma 110 – Tiongson 24, Go 21, Gomez de Liano 21, Holt 18, Carino 9, Cahilig 6, Sangalang 5, Ramos 4, Alolino 2, Olivario 0, Calvo 0.

Quarters: 24-26,, 45-54, 78-75, 113-110.

—Bea Micaller/JKC, GMA Integrated News