Petron perseveres, climbs back from 20 points down to sneak past Talk ‘N Text in Game 3

Games today:

Smart Araneta Center

6 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. Powerade

Alex Cabagnot lived up to his status as one of the best clutch performers in the league as he sank a three-pointer late in the game to lead the Petron Blaze Boosters to a, 95-93 victory over second-seed Talk ‘N Text in Game 3 of the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Held scoreless in the entire first half, Cabagnot came alive in the third then watched teammate Denok Miranda pull the Boosters to within striking distance in the fourth before finishing off the Texters in the dying seconds of the game.

The Boosters now take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Cabagnot finished with 12 points and eight assists, but it was his three-pointer that saved the day for Petron.

The Texters built leads of as many as 20 but watched that advantage fade in the fourth behind Miranda, Arwind Santos and Joseph Yeo.

A 12-0 run midway through the fourth allowed Petron to take a 91-89 lead with three minutes left.

Talk ‘N Text managed to retake a 93-91 lead with free-throw shots by Kelly Williams and Ali Peek with 25 seconds left.

Petron then drew up a play for Cabagnot but saw the ball in the hands of Santos in the next play.

Santos took a shot but passed off to Danny Ildefonso after he was well defended by Williams. The veteran Ildefonso immediately shoved another pass to Cabagnot at the top of arc and made the shot that gave the Boosters a 94-93 lead with 12.9 seconds left.

The Texters missed three-point attempts from Larry Fonacier and Ranidel de Ocampo while Chriz Lutz added a free-throw to peg the final score.