SAN MIGUEL BEERMEN RETURN WITH A BANG
SAN Miguel Beer is back, and how!
The multi-titled Beermen brandished the kind of fiery game they have long been known for in stymieing Meralco, 94-76, Friday at the start of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Arwind Santos and Doug Kramer stood out the most for the team that went by the brand name Petron Blaze the previous eight conferences, taking turns in leading a sustained charge from the second quarter on.
Marcio Lassiter, new acquisition Sol Mercado and the other Beermen did their part, resulting in three 20-point leads, the last at 83-63,5:30 to go.
Meralco was also kept at bay despite SMB import Josh Boone sitting it out for majority of the second half due to foul trouble and ace center June Mar Fajardo not seeing action due to a sprained left ankle he suffered in practice.
“We need this win to build our confidence,” said SMB head coach Biboy Ravanes, who was ably assisted by active consultant Todd Purves.
“Ang mga players naming, sinasabihan namin to play their game. There’s a lot of expectations, a lot on their shoulders,” added Ravanes.
“Just really happy to get a win,” said Purves. “We’re trying to build chemistry and I am proud of the effort put in by our guys.”
Brian Butch, the tallest among the reinforcements at just over 6’10, debuted with game-highs of 29 points and 21 rebounds but got little support from the Meralco locals. Only Gary David was the other scorer in double digits with 20.
Despite going 7-for-17 from the field Boone still wound up with 16 points like Santos and added 16 rebounds.
Questions about his game-shape following knee and shoulder injuries have prompted team officials to fly in a backup, just in case.
Kevin Jones, listed at 6’8 who has had brief stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA and Canton Charge in the NBA D-League, is set to arrive Saturday.
For the moment, Ravanes and Purves only have glowing words for Boone.
“I would like to commend our import, Josh,” said Ravanes. “We want to appreciate his professionalism. Saludo kami sa kanya sa attitude and everything.”
Purves said the former NBA first round pick and Brooklyn Net perfectly fits their system. “Boone gave a good hard effort. We want guys who are physically tough, mentally tough and unselfish.”
Boone did dish out three of SMB’s 27 assists, which accounted for 40 of its field goals and the Beermen’s overall defensive effort resulted in Meralco making just 26 of 75 tries from the field.
“One thing with our system, we designed it for us to be relentless on defense,” said Ravanes, whose charges also pulled off 10 steals, five by Chris Ross, and harassed Meralco into committing a total 19 turnovers.
The Beermen also had 19 miscues, but those hardly mattered in this particular game.
Kramer came off the bench to score 14 points and Lassiter wound up with 12 points, seven boards and six dimes despite going scoreless in the first half.
Lassiter fully hit his offensive stride with a floater and he scattered eight more points in the third period to help SMB take a 69-52 lead into the fourth canto.
Chris Lutz also had a poor shooting night with just a 2-for-7 clip, but his four-point play pegged the game’s first 20-point difference at 80-60, still 6:29 remaining in the game.
Meralco’s downfall actually started as early as the second period, when it was held to just a 3-for-15 field shooting and harassed into five turnovers that stoked SMB’s charge into a 40-29 halftime spread. (NC)
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 94 – Boone 16, Santos 16, Kramer 14, Lassiter 12, Mercado 8, Tubid 7, Duncil 6, Lutz 6, Hubalde 4, Ross 4, Maierhofer 1, Taha 0.
MERALCO 76 – Butch 29, David 20, Hugnatan 8, Hodge 7, Wilson 5, Al-Hussaini 4, Caram 2, Artadi 1, Ildefonso 0, Salvacion 0, Guevarra 0, Dillinger 0.
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