Makati Survived a San Juan Comeback to Force Game 3: What Happened?

For the second straight series in the ongoing Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL) playoffs, the Makati Super Crunch were facing a must-win situation heading into a Game Two. On the road. For the second straight series, it was the Super Crunch who came out victorious on the road and forced a winner-take-all match. 

As if facing the defending champions in the North Division Finals was hard enough for the Beaujing Acot-mentored side.

Leading by as much as 10 points, the Makati Super Crunch had to survive a Knights side who trimmed that lead down to 89-87 with 20 seconds left on the clock. In fact, the Knights even had a chance to force an overtime period but John Wilson couldn't hit a last-second attempt thus allowing Makati to escape with a hard-fought 91-88 victory in Game Two force a do-or-die showdown on Saturday. That is despite Wilson erupting for a game-leading 21 points and the fact that San Juan scored 34 points in the fourth quarter alone. That was definitely a long fourth quarter for Makati.

Makati's Stars Showed Up

Limited to single-digit outputs in the series opener, Jong Baloria and Jeckster Apinan came out and led Makati's fight for survival. Apinan led the way with 20 points on six for 13 field goal shooting. Apinan also finished with 12 rebounds, seven rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. All of that in 34 minutes of action.  Jong Baloria shot seven for 11 from the field for his 18 points while Joseph Sedurifa, one of Makati's heroes in that series against the mighty Manila Stars, had 15 points despite going one for six from the three-point line. Joshua Torralba added 14 points and eight rebounds while Cedric Ablaza finished with 13 points and seven boards off the bench. 

While John Wilson had 21 points, his field goal shooting was unknightly as he only shot six for 16. He missed seven attempts from three including the potential game-tying one at the endgame. Jhonard Clarito, who had a big double-double in Game One, finished with a five for 13 field goal shooting for his 12 points in Game Two. Mike Ayonayon was limited to seven points in 20 minutes. Clearly, Game Two was a contrast of outputs from the main men of both teams.

The Small Differences Mattered the Most

In a playoff series this close, every difference you can make will matter in the endgame. In the case of Game Two between San Juan and Makati, that was indeed what happened.

For starters, it was Makati who shot and made more free throws as the Super Crunch went 27 for 35 from the line. On the other hand, 27 was the number of attempts San Juan had from the free-throw line while only making 16 of them. 

Both teams were bricking most of their attempts from the three-point line but Makati was shooting better at 29%, going eight for 27 from deep while San Juan only made six of their 24 tries from downtown. In a game this close, every make mattered and it certainly mattered for the Super Crunch.

Both teams will now head into Game Three on Saturday with one final chance to book a seat in the MPBL Finals. While the Knights' championship experience will be a slight advantage for San Juan, Makati did beat a talented Manila team in the semifinals and they were able to force a win-or-go-home game against the Knights. Will they be able to complete the upset? That's a good question that will be answered on Saturday. 

Photo is from the Facebook page of the MPBL