San Miguel has tied its PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup best-of-seven semifinal clash against Ginebra twice.
San Miguel will look to ride the momentum of its latest triumph when it faces Ginebra in a crucial Game 5 of the PBA Season 49 Governors' Cup semifinals on Friday, Oct. 18, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Beermen have tied the series for the second time at 2-2 and now aim to claim the upper hand for the first time in the best-of-seven showdown.
Throughout the series, Ginebra has consistently set the pace, taking a one-game lead only for San Miguel to respond with a victory each time.
Now, SMB hopes to break that pattern.
[RELATED STORY: PBA: Marcio Lassiter motivated to score series win against Justin Brownlee, Ginebra]
The Beermen's 131-121 victory Wednesday night, Oct. 16, was highlighted by another stellar performance from June Mar Fajardo.
The eight-time Most Valuable Player rebounded from a lackluster Game 3 showing, where he scored just 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting and committed five turnovers in their 94-99 defeat.
Fajardo stormed back in Game 4, posting 29 points on an efficient 12-for-15 clip while also grabbing 16 rebounds and limiting himself to just one turnover.
[RELATED STORY: Well-prepared San Miguel evens PBA Governors' Cup semis series against Ginebra in Game 4]
Supporting Fajardo was import, EJ Anosike, who recorded a double-double of 27 points and 11 rebounds, while CJ Perez also had a 20-point night he topped with six rebounds and seven assists.
Three-point king Marcio Lassiter knocked down two from rainbow country for 15 points.
San Miguel's depth also played a critical role as second stringers Don Trollano and Terrence Romeo combined for 29 of the team's 32 bench points.
Ginebra, meanwhile, drew an inferior 23 points from its bench as Justin Brownlee shone with a massive 49 points.
But the Beermen’s balanced attack helped counter that.
Despite Brownlee’s impressive 20-for-26 shooting night, San Miguel’s superior rebounding (50 to 35) and field goal shooting (54.4 percent to Ginebra’s 49.4 percent) proved to be the difference-makers.
Additionally, San Miguel capitalized on Ginebra’s 11 turnovers, converting them to 13 points compared to Ginebra’s four.
The Beermen hope to carry over the positives of this match when they tangle anew with the Gin Kings at the 5 p.m. curtain raiser that will also feature another Game 4 battle between defending champ TNT and Rain or Shine.
The Tropang Giga leads 3-1.
[Editor's note: This article was generated by a member of the One Sports Digital team using AI and then checked by the staff to ensure accuracy.]