MANILA — The top-seeded defending champion San Miguel Beer rained down three-pointers all night long, blasting the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 102-90, to take Game 1 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum on Friday night. Game Two is Sunday.
The Beermen went 16-of-34 from beyond the arc, breaking the game wide open in the third quarter before coasting to victory. SMB also recorded a league-conference-high 34 assists.
With the victory, SMB avenged its 96-100 eliminations round defeat to Ginebra.
From a 50-41 halftime lead, the Beermen opened the third quarter with a 14-4 barrage to take a 19-point lead, 64-45 lead, with 7:11 left in the period.
Arwind Santos led the Beermen with 23 points, including five three-pointers, on top of eight rebounds and three assists in 41 minutes.
Marcio Lassiter also had five three-pointers, finishing with 17 points, five boards, five assists in 30 minutes. A Lassiter three-pointer in the third quarter gave SMB its biggest lead, 64-45.
Von Pessumal joined the three-point shooting party, firing four of his down to finish with a career-high 18 points while also collecting three boards and two assists in just 19 minutes off the bench.
Alex Cabagnot added 15 points and six assists. SMB hardly needed the offensive and defensive might of four-time MVP June Mar Fajardo who played fewer minutes than usual, tallying nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.
The Beermen pounced on the weary Kings who were their fourth game in the week, leading from start to finish and never giving Ginebra any opportunity to recover from a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter.
Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, and Sol Mercado all scored 17 points apiece to lead Ginebra. Aljon Mariano added 12 markers. LA Tenorio and Joe Devance both had an off-night, finishing with just six and four points, respectively.
The Kings continued to miss the services of their injured seven-foot center Greg Slaughter who appeared in street clothes.
Game Saturday: Magnolia Hotshots vs. NLEX Road Warriors (Game 1, best-of-7 semifinals).
