Jay R. Gotera Saudi GazetteMANILA — The B-Meg Llamados barged into the Finals of the 2012 PBA Governors' Cup, eliminating the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 74-72, Friday in their do-or-die playoff match at the packed Smart Araneta Coliseum. With the score tied at 72-all, P.J. Simon nailed a clutch follow-up shot off a miss by Marcus Blakely with 2.5 seconds remaining to give the Llamados the last ticket to the best-of-seven Finals against early qualifier Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. The championship series begins Sunday. The victory was the third by B-Meg against Ginebra in the conference. The Llamados defeated the Kings, 96-88, last May 27 during the elimination round. B-Meg then drubbed Ginebra anew in the semifinal round, 82-70, last July 15. The two teams fought furiously from the start, with the Llamados gaining the edge for most parts of the game. But the never-say-die Kings rallied in the final quarter to equalize on a three-pointer by Nino Canaleta, 72-all, 43 seconds left in the game. After a missed B-Meg basket, the Kings had the chance to grab the lead but Kerby Raymundo's three-point attempt clanked off the rim. After a timeout, Blakely drove to the baseline for a jumper but missed. But Simon collared the offensive rebound for a put-back to put B-Meg on top, 74-72, with 2.5 seconds remaining. Ginebra still had a chance to tie or even win the game, but again Raymundo missed on his three-point attempt to hand B-Meg the win. Blakely led the Llamados with 22 points and 11 rebounds. James Yap added 16 points while Simon finished with 11 points. Cedric Bozeman topscored for Ginebra with 27 points, while Mark Caguioa had 14 markers.
