SMB TAKES LEAD, 3-2
San Miguel Beer moved within one more victory of claiming its first PBA Philippine Cup championship in 14 years. But the Alaska Aces have history on their side going to Game 6 Sunday.
June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos, the league MVPs the last two seasons, each delivered 19 points and smothered five shots as the Beermen withstood a fierce fourth quarter storm whipped up by the Aces, 93-88, Friday night to seize a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 championship series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
SMB can claim the title it last won in 2001 with a triumph on Sunday, but it won’t be easy.
Though only 11 out of 33 teams have come back to win a 7-game Finals after falling behind, 2-3, Alaska accounted for three of those 11, with two coming against San Miguel.
This gave Alaska coach Alex Compton reason to stay optimistic.
“If we keep attacking their defense like tonight and play with the same kind of intensity, we can give ourselves a chance (in Game 6),” Compton said.
Leo Austria, the SMB mentor, has other plans however,
“We’re here to win championships and we were given an opportunity to win one, so why not?” said Austria when asked if he is looking beyond Game 6.
Fajardo hauled down 13 rebounds and Santos 9 with 4 assists while Marcio Lassiter added 16 points with three 3-pointers. Alex Cabagnot, Chris Lutz and Ronald Tubid, the three other SMB players who torched the Aces in Game 4, had their contributions as well though not as significant as last Wednesday’s.
Calvin Abueva led the Aces with 24 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in the game and Cyrus Baguio added 12 of his 19 points in the third quarter. But point guard JVee Casio remained mired in a shooting funk after going 0 of 2 the previous game, remaining scoreless in two games after missing all 8 of his shots, 6 of them 3-pointers.
Casio’s scoring absence was critical to Alaska losing back-to-back championship games in the best-of-7 series, as well as the 40 free throws awarded the Beermen which Aces coach Alex Compton repeatedly pointed to.
Asked if Casio is injured, Compton said, ‘Not that I’m aware of. He then added firmly, “JVee will be fine.”
Of SMB’s 29 of 40 charities (to Alaska’s 17 of 26), Compton said: “We commit a number of silly fouls but I don’t think those 40 free throws came from those silly fouls.”
Fajardo erased a 79-78 Alaska lead in the fourth quarter and a 3-pointer by Lassiter made it 89-82 with 3:02 to go. Two free throws and a driving layup by Abueva cut the deficit to 89-86, but Santos hit two foul shots with 18 seconds left, ending the Aces’ final stand.
In an abrupt departure from the first four games where the Beermen dominated the first half, the Aces held their own this time, 41-all, behind the 3-point shooting of RJ Jazul and a resurgent defense that took a leave of absence in Game 4.
After shooting the lights out of the Big Dome in the first quarter two days ago where they gunned down 6 of 13 beyond the arc en route to a 33-16 lead after the first period, the Beermen misfired on 11 of their 12 treys in the first 24 minutes, including 1 of 8 in the opening period.
SMB also did a sloppy job of getting the ball to Fajardo, who only got off 3 field goal attempts in the first half, with his lone basket outside his 9 of 10 free throws coming belatedly with only 3:29 left in the second period.
Santos was 1 of 6 in 3s but was 4 of 5 from within as he and Fajardo rode out the Alaska storm sparked by Jasul’s torrid shooting and Sonny Thoss’ 10 first half points. Scoreless in Game 4, playmaker JVee Casio got set up more than anybody else but continued to throw bricks on 0 of 6 from the floor, including the Aces’ final play of the half.
SMB broke ahead, 13-5, early but got reeled in by Alaska’s second team, with Abueva, Dondon Hontiveros and rookie Chris Banchero inside when the Aces wrapped up the first quarter with a 9-2 run for a 23-21 edge.
Vic Manuel made it 28-21 from baseline, but Fajardo found a way to go around the double-team and his lack of touches from the field by converting four free throws as SMB countered with an 8-2 spurt to reclaim the lead, 29-28, and set up the tight exchange that ensued. (WJRHT)
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