TnT, Derby Ace even series at 1-1

MANILA, Philippines - Tony Washam canned a big three-point play and put up a key defensive stop in the endgame as B-Meg Derby Ace edged San Miguel, 95-94, to make it a 1-1 tie in the PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinals last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Washam fired 10 of his game-high 33 points in the payoff period as the Llamados completed their comeback from 18-points down to draw level with the Beermen, who took Wednesday’s opener, 101-88.

The other semis pairing was also reduced to a race-to-three affair after the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters eked out a series-tying 100-94 triumph in the first game.

With the Beermen up by two, 94-92, Washam drove past Arwind Santos, drew Gabe Freeman’s sixth foul and completed a three-point play to give the Llamados a 95-94 margin, 7.9 seconds left.

The explosive import continued his heroics on the defensive end, stripping Danny Seigle of possession as time expired.

“They (Beermen) got our numbers in the first two quarters but we simply didn’t give up and we got rewarded,” said BMEG coach Ryan Gregorio, whose wards fell behind by as many as 18, 25-43, early in the second canto.

“The biggest difference was that we played with a lot of energy and sense of urgency in the second half and we’ve gotten into a real good rhythm. We needed the breaks in the end and Tony Washam was there to bail us out,” he added.

James Yap and Don Allado added 18 and 15 points, respectively, to complement Washam, who also put in seven rebounds and four steals.

Santos and Freeman led the way for the Beermen with 19 and 18, respectively.

Earlier, Talk ‘N Text turned to its small men Jimmy Alapag and Jason Castro in turning back Alaska, 100-94.

Alapag and Castro turned the tables around against the former Ateneo star and made the big plays that allowed the Mac Cardona-less Texters to reduce the series to a race-to-three affair.