San Miguel Beer needed a pair of clutch steals and a suffocating final stand to escape with a 109-104 win over Terrafirma on Saturday, July 18, surviving a stunning second-half collapse that nearly cost it a 22-point lead in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Import George King bulldozed his way to 37 points and 14 rebounds, capped by four straight points that put the Beermen ahead for good, 105-104, with 39.1 seconds remaining. But it was defense — not offense — that ultimately decided the game, as King and CJ Perez turned into pickpockets down the stretch to seal San Miguel’s 2-0 start to the conference.

The win, however, came at the cost of nearly blowing one of the biggest cushions of the tournament, and it dropped Terrafirma to a heartbreaking 1-3 record after a third straight last-gasp loss.

King, Perez Steals Seal the Win in Final Seconds

With Terrafirma threatening a miracle comeback, San Miguel’s defense delivered when it mattered most. After Juami Tiongson’s fifth triple of the night gave the Dyip a 104-101 lead with 1:21 left, King answered immediately to swing the momentum back in the Beermen’s favor.

Perez split a pair of free throws to make it 106-104, setting up the game’s defining sequence. With 4.4 seconds on the clock and Terrafirma still alive to force overtime, Maverick Ahanmisi’s inbound pass toward Tiongson never reached its target — Perez read the play and jumped the passing lane for the game-clinching steal. Free throws from Perez and Don Trollano sealed it, 109-104.

“We were fortunate there. It could’ve easily been Terrafirma before you guys today,” King said. “Luckily, our defense at that moment turned up.”

Terrafirma’s Furious Rally Falls Just Short Again

Stand-in head coach Peter Martin, filling in for the still-recovering Leo Austria for a second straight game, didn’t hide his admiration for Terrafirma’s fight after San Miguel let a commanding 68-46 third-quarter lead nearly slip away.

“I think they outhustled us, they outplayed us, they outcoached us. The coaching staff of the other side was better than me today,” Martin admitted.

Justin Strings paced Terrafirma with 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Tiongson finished with 27 and Ahanmisi added 20 as the Dyip nearly pulled off their second historic comeback of the young conference — a feat Martin said his team had specifically prepared for.

“We reminded them that Terrafirma came back from 20 points down in the fourth quarter against two teams, NLEX and Converge,” Martin said.

Geo Chiu added nine points and 10 rebounds while spending stretches guarding June Mar Fajardo, who played limited minutes due to an injured elbow and finished with just two points and four rebounds.

For Terrafirma, the loss marks a painfully familiar pattern — a gutsy rally with no reward — while San Miguel walks away 2-0, battle-tested, and reminded that even a 22-point lead isn’t safe without lockdown defense in crunch time.