Beermen rout Elite, book q’finals ticket
San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria insisted they had their breather and spent some time with their families during the holidays.
It didn’t look like it.
The Beermen were in great form, extra sharp and so lethal in their 118-93 conquest of the Blackwater Elite that all but sealed their entry into the PBA Philippine Cup playoff round Friday night at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
Each of the player Austria fielded in was ready to play and ready to put up points on the board. Count Alex Cabagnot with them.
With his face mask made in time, Cabagnot came out as among the lead lights as the Beermen roared to a sixth win in seven starts in the all-Filipino tourney.
June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, Chris Ross and Gabby Espinas also played stellar roles as SMB overwhelmed Blackwater and sent the Elite down to sixth place at 4-4.
Espinas, Fajardo, Lassiter and Cabagnot all had had double-digit outputs at the half of the lopsided match.
The Beermen utterly dominated the Elite, storming to a 65-40 halftime lead and hardly allowing Mac Belo and his teammates to put up a semblance of a fight.
It was almost an all-SMB show.
Behind Raymond Aguilar and Roi Sumang, the Elite actually got to within 11 at 101-90. But Austria didn’t leave anything to chance, returning Fajardo, Cabagnot, Santos and Ross to quell a growing
threat.
Arnold Van Opstal then had his moment towards the end, making three successive baskets to cheers from the crowd.
San Miguel marked its murderous first half with a 36-25 advantage in rebounding. And the Beermen didn’t yield a single second-chance point to the Elite.
Belo, Blackwater’s super rookie, was in check, held without a point — even without a field goal attempt — in the first half. The 6-foot-4 forward finally hit the scoring column midway through the third.
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