MANILA, Philippines -- The San Miguel Beermen completed a massive come-from-behind win against the Meralco Bolts, 95-94, to tie the best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup finals at one game apiece Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
CJ Perez erupted for a finals career-high 34 points, five steals, five assists and four rebounds.
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Bolts, who led by four with 26 seconds remaining before Perez and Marcio Lassiter made back-to-back 3-pointers for the win.
A Bong Quinto high-looper over the outstretched arms of June Mar Fajardo gave the Bolts a 90-89 lead with 58.2 seconds to go.
After Perez airballed a 3-pointer that would have given the Beermen the lead, Chris Banchero sank a gigantic triple of his own to push Meralco’s lead to four, 93-89.
On the other end, Perez hoisted up a corner trey that found the mark to cut the lead to one, 92-93.
Banchero was then fouled, but he muffed his first and made the second.
In the next possession, San Miguel rushed to the other side of the court, found Marcio Lassiter, who caught the ball also at the same left corner.
He stepped to his side and launched the go-ahead 3-pointer that turned out to be the game-winner, 95-94.
Banchero tried to win it for the Bolts, but his wild layup missed, icing the game.
June Mar Fajardo backstopped Perez’s performance with 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa added 12 and 10, respectively, for the Beermen.
Cliff Hodge powered the Bolts in the losing effort, finishing with a season-high 25 points and nine rebounds.
Banchero and Chris Newsome chipped in 16 and 14 markers, respectively.
The game was too close to call in the final minutes, with the two teams trading leads down the stretch.
Meralco led by eight early on, 78-70. The Beermen, however, would claw their way back with a 10-0 run to go up by two, 80-78, in less than three minutes of basketball.
Meralco would retaliate with an 8-1 run of their own capped by a Banchero layup to set up the cardiac finish.
Both teams will try to go up by 2-1 when they battle in the crucial Game 3 on Sunday, 6:15 p.m., at the same venue.