Wounded Fajardo and Import Elijah Millsap leads SMB to get their first win in the semis

The San Miguel Beermen had to overcome some big hurdles but managed to do just that as tripped Barangay Ginebra, 95-92, to draw even in their best-of-five Oppo PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal series on Wednesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Elijah Millsap scored a game-high 25 points alongside nine rebounds and four assists to lead the way for San Miguel, which knotted the series, 1-1.

June Mar Fajardo, who suffered a boxer’s cut and missed some time in the second quarter, shrugged off the injury to finish with 18 points and 23 big rebounds for the Beermen.

Alex Cabagnot added 13 points and eight assists while Ronald Tubid stepped up with 10 markers, including two triples in the fourth quarter, from off the bench.

Ginebra was led by LA Tenorio, who finished with team-highs of 22 points and seven assists.

Just like Game One, San Miguel jumped out to a big start as they doubled Ginebra’s output, 24-12, early in the first quarter, thanks mainly to Fajardo, who tallied 10 points and four rebounds in a span of just nine minutes.

The Kings, though, closed the period out with six unanswered points to make it a more manageable difference of six points by the end of the first.

In the second quarter, Fajardo had to be treated for the cut after being inadvertently hit by the elbow of teammate Millsap as the import was landing from a layup. Even with Fajardo heading into the dugout, the Beermen kept the game under control, going into the halftime break with a 51-40 lead.

Fajardo and Millsap each had 10 points to lead SMB while Ginebra was led by rookie Aljon Mariano, who exploded for eight of his 10 first half points in the first five and a half minutes of the contest.

Ginebra, though, needed one more stop but could not get it as SMB beat the Kings’ pressure and Millsap threw down a big dunk with 12 seconds remaining, 95-92. Brownlee tried to force overtime but his three-point attempt would not fall. -interaksyon.com