Beermen flex muscles in rout of Road Warriors
CAGAYAN DE ORO — Titleholder San Miguel Beer shook off shaky stands in its previous games, hammering out a first decisive victory in the 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup with a 106-80 blasting of NLEX at the Xavier U Gym here Saturday night.
Barely beating Star, Alaska and Mahindra and even falling in an upset by Phoenix, the Beermen finally showcased their lethal championship form, romping past the Road Warriors to gain solo lead in the all-Filipino tourney at 4-1.
The Beermen pounded NLEX hard all night and dealt the Road Warriors a fourth straight loss after a triumphant season debut versus Alaska.
Asi Taulava and Garvo Lanete both returned from a one-game layoff but hardly made a difference for the slumping NLEX squad in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special.
Worse, Lanete had to sit out the last 9:47 minutes of the game after twisting his left ankle on a drive.
June Mar Fajardo and his teammates asserted their might, disallowing Cagayan de Oro native Carlo Lastimosa from making a show for his kababayans.
The lopsided match gave SMB coach Leo Austria the luxury of fielding in rookies Arnold Van Opstal and Rashawn McCarthy.
Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Arwind Santos, RR Garcia, Marcio Lassiter and Ronald Tubid had put in double-digit outputs when they were rested by Austria.
The Beermen carried a huge 60-37 lead over into the final half on an explosive first half marked by 10-of-21 three-pointers.
Garcia, Cabagnot and Santos almost outscored the entire NLEX team in the first two quarters as they combined for seven triples and a total of 33 points.
Fajardo contributed eight rebounds, six points, two blocks and one assist in their early breakaway.
Cabagnot, Santos, Fajardo, Ross and Lassiter got the team to a good start then Garcia came off the bench and helped sustain their charge, firing away 12 points, including two treys in the first half.
With an 18-37 overall three-point shooting, the Beermen easily sustained a hot charge throughout the contest.
Cabagnot, Lassiter, Santos, Garcia, Tubid and even JayR Reyes made at least two triples each.
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