Beermen thump Kings, lead 3-1

MANILA, Philippines -  June Mar Fajardo claimed the coveted BPC award and San Miguel Beer held a virtual three-point shooting clinic in a wire-to-wire 94-85 victory over Barangay Ginebra that sent the Beermen in the threshold of a PBA Philippine Cup three-peat at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The San Miguel gunners drained 6-of-6 treys to start the game, knocked in 3-of-3 triples to open the second period and fired a total of 15 three-point bombs to highlight a dominant win that shoved the Beermen to a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

A crowd of 17,146 raucous fans witnessed the virtual repeat of Game One where the Beermen came out with their guns ablaze to take control early before leading by as many as 26 early in the second half which proved to be a big cushion against Ginebra’s vaunted last-ditch stand.

Fajardo, now holder of five BPC plums, and the Beermen take their first of three cracks at bagging the series and the perpetual Jun Bernardino Trophy in Game Five, also at the Big Dome tomorrow.

Only four teams (four-of-50) in PBA history have climbed out of a 1-3 hole to win the best-of-seven series.

“It’s not yet over but the body language of the guys indicates they would try hard not to let it go Sunday,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria. “I hope we can close it out already in Game Five. We’re all tired now.”

The second best three-point shooting team with 10.3 conversions a game, the Beermen outdid themselves in Game Four with Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Ronald Tubid, Gabby Espinas and Yancy de Ocampo combining for 15 triples as against Ginebra’s only five.

Fajardo took over when Ginebra got into the game in the fourth quarter, and the tournament MVP came through with yet another double-double game with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

“By and large, they won the game in the first five minutes of the game,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone.