GAMES TOMORROW
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. – TNT vs. Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. – SMB vs. Ginebra
GINEBRA guards RJ Abarrientos and Stephen Holt muffed a two-on-one fast break attack in the third quarter that drew boos and angsts from the team’s horde of fans who showed up and expected their beloved squad to inch closer to the Big Dance against an awakened San Miguel Beer side—only to be thrashed last night.
Playing with a sense of urgency and a lot more energy, the Beermen bludgeoned the Kings 107-82 in Game 4 of their best-of-7 semifinals clash in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Abarrientos and Holt could only shake their heads in frustration after the turnover with forlorn faces all over the Ginebra bench, including coach Tim Cone’s.
Power forward Rodney Brondial pounced on their foes’ miscue, draining a three-pointer for a 76-61 lead with 4:18 to go in the third canto.
For SMB tactician Leo Austria, it was simply a story of his troops’ determination to avoid a repeat of a 90-100 loss in the third tiff last Sunday and a precarious 1-3 deficit.
Instead, the Beermen turned the race-to-4 series to a best-of-3 beginning in the pivotal Game 5 tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“It’s very obvious that the energy of the team was very high. We were able to match up their (Kings) energy and our perimeter shooting was good, unlike before. We were 50 percent from the three-point area tonight,” Austria said. “Last time, we were three-of-28. I think the difference was one thing na binigyan namin ng pansin dahil makikita ninyo naman na they were issuing only 18 assists. Quite high pa rin for a regular team but they’re averaging 25 assists which means our defense is working.
“I can see it from the players, from the start, from the dugout, nakita ko sa kanilang body language. This team will really play tonight. It was very evident kanina. Our players played with a different kind of energy,” he added.
CJ Perez presided over the carnage with a game-high 19 points he paired with five rebounds, on top of seven assists for SMB while Juami Tiongson backed him up with 14 markers on four triples.
Reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo continued to fight through a calf injury and produced 12 points, 19 boards, and three dimes while Jericho Cruz (12), Brondial (12), and Don Trollano (11) also gave the Beermen the much-needed added punch.
SMB fell 50-51 at the turn but it harassed the Kings to miss shots and commit turnovers as Ginebra could only muster 12 points in the third, allowing the Beermen to enjoy an 80-63 spread heading into the payoff period.
Troy Rosario paced Ginebra with 14 points and seven rebounds while Jamie Malonzo added 12 markers.
Former MVP Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar also got 11 and 10, respectively, for the Kings.
Trollano put an exclamation point to the emphatic rout with a four-pointer that pushed SMB’s edge to as much as 107-80 in the final 1:01 that also returned the ball to Ginebra’s court to fight back in the fifth match.
