MANILA—Given the opportunity, Bo Perasol said he would pick JV Casio ahead of everybody else in the rookie draft.

The sharp-witted playmaker didn't disappoint the Powerade coach last night, driving Smart Gilas Pilipinas through a tight second half for a 98-97 win over Perasol's Tigers in the PBA Commissioner's Cup.

Casio sliced through two defenders from the top of the key and wagged off Francis Allera in mid-air with a finger roll for the winning basket, 9.3 seconds left in the clock.

Peter June Simon scored five of his conference-high 26 points in overtime as B-Meg Derby Ace eliminated San Miguel Beer from the playoffs with a 93-88 win in the other game.

The Llamados, who also got 17 points and 13 rebounds from new import Courtney Beasley, notched a second straight overtime win, their fourth victory in eight games overall.

David Young had 28 points and 10 boards and rookie Rabeh Al-Hussaini added 16 and nine rebounds for the Beermen, whose 1-7 record booted them out of the playoffs for the first time in 11 conferences.

The Tigers, who now dropped six of eight games, blew the chance to steal the show after Martin Zeno misfired a short jumper and Allera missed point-blank at the buzzer.

`Now everybody understands that our advantage is not just Marcus (Douthit),' said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman after the national team joined idle Talk N Text back on top with identical 6-1 records."

"These kids know how to play."

Toroman decided to bench Douthit, who sprained his left ankle in a 90-98 decision to B-Meg Derby Ace last Wednesday.

"Marcus asked me to play him in the second half, I didn't. He should rest for the Ginebra game to improve our chances for the first two playoff spots," said Toroman. "I didn't want to risk his injury.'

He obviously didn't need to gamble on fielding the 6-foot-10 Douthit.

Casio pumped in 29 points and had five three-pointers, and Marcio Lassiter added 21 points, highlighted by a triple and steal off Martin Zeno that tied the count at 91 with three minutes left.

Chris Tiu, who hurt left collar bone after Dennis Espino banged him up with a bone-crunching pick, nailed the three that gave Smart Gilas a 96-95 edge before the Nationals sealed it with Casio's drive.

Chris Lutz had a terrific third quarter, helping the Nationals spring back from 22 points down while Japeth Aguilar had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks that somehow made up for the absence of Douthit.

Zeno came out with his best output in three games with the Tigers so far after posting 28 points on top of 11 rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Gary David joined forces with Zeno and finished with 23 for the Tigers, who are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight conference.

From a 36-14 deficit, Mark Barroca\'s floater finally knotted the count at 71 while Lutz added a pair of free-throws and completed a three-point play off a Dennis Espino foul to complete a 76-71 Smart Gilas turnaround.

Casio had nine points in the third and Lutz added seven, including a three-pointer that sparked the run and cut the Powerade lead to five.

B-Meg team captain Kerby Raymundo's freethrow in the third made him the 63rd member of the elite club of players who scored at least 5,000 points and 67th including imports Norman Black, Bobby Parks, Sean Chambers and Lou Massey.

June Navarro, Inquirer.net