The San Miguel forward went 10 of 25 from the field and teamed up with Dondon Hontiveros in the fourth quarter to riddle the Kings with three-pointers that propelled the Beermen to a comfortable 92-81 cushion and took away the fight from their never-say-die rivals.
Washington had 11 points and Hontiveros, who went 6-of-9 from 3-point range, had 12 in that decisive quarter.
Washington, the top pick in the 2005 Annual Draft, and Hontiveros shared scoring honors with 29 and 28 points apiece, respectively.
Washington’s output matched his career-high he recorded in Game 1 of the semifinals of the same conference against Talk ‘N’ Text two seasons ago. For Hontiveros, it was a conference-high.
“During the huddle at the locker room I told the boys this [Game 2] is the key to entering the finals,” offered SMB head coach Ato Agustin after the game. He said he was particularly pleased with his players not losing their composure.
Notwithstanding their comfortable lead in the series, Agustin remains cautious going into Game 3 on Sunday.
“Di naming iniisip yun. We’ll just take it one game at a time,” he said.
Alex Cabagnot, the hero of Game 1, scored 15 points and had five assists and Dorian Pena grabbed 15 rebounds as the Beermen won the rebounding battle for the second straight game, 51-48.
Rudy Hatfield recorded a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds to show the way for the Kings, who are hard-pressed to win on Sunday if they intend to turn the series around.
A confrontation between SMB’s Danny Ildefonso and Ginebra’s Rico Villanueva early in the third quarter typified the fierceness of the series between the league’s two most popular teams Ildefonso was slapped with a flagrant foul 1 for that incident and because of a technical foul he incurred earlier, he was eventually banished from the court with still 6:18 to play in the third.
“It was a great win for us tonight. It was good to see the guys respond after Game 1. We’re all focused and played on the same page. We knew how important this game was,” said Washington.
“The series is not over yet. But if we can get up 3-0 we could take the fight out of them,” he added.
A jumper and 3-pointer by Cabagnot gave SMB a 54-45 lead but the Kings responded with a 16-2 run in a four-minute stretch to grab a five-point lead.
The Kings, who have now lost all their four matches against the Beermen this conference, had a 70-56 lead after Willy Wilson made two free throws with 56 second remaining in the third.
But Hontiveros completed a three-point play 17 seconds later and after Barangay Ginebra missed on two attempts, Olsen Racela, who is set to retire after the conference, knocked in a running 3-point shot at the buzzer to give SMB a 72-70 lead after three. SMB never trailed after that. (DBC)
The scores:
San Miguel Beer 108 - Washington 29, Hontiveros 29, Cabagnot 15, Santos 9, Pena 7, Yeo 6, Racela 3, Miranda 2, Seigle 2, Ildefonso 2, Pennisi 2, Artadi 1, Salvacion 1.
Barangay Ginebra 102 - Hatfield 20, Villanueva 17, Tubid 16, Miller 16, Caguioa 13, Intal 8, Helterbrand 7, Wilson 5, Cortez 0, Menk 0, De Ocampo 0.
Quarterscores: 32-23, 49-43, 72-70, 108-102
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