Beermen sail past Painters, lead 3-2

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer turned its 10-man rotation into one cohesive, wreaking crew which outscored and outclassed Rain or Shine in the payoff period on their way to a smooth 103-94 victory and a pivotal three-games-to-two lead in their Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal showdown last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Junmar Fajardo’s key backups played more aggressively this time and became more productive, working on a crucial attack at the start of the fourth quarter that carried the team to the threshold of an all-Filipino finals rematch with the Alaska Milk Aces.

The Beermen take the first of their two chances  at closing out the series in Game Six tomorrow also at the Big Dome. Game Seven, if necessary, is Sunday in the same venue.

“Our players have started to pick up their game again especially our starters. The most important is our approach. We have to play deliberate and methodical to exploit our advantage,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

“We have identified areas to attack, and our players are getting familiar with it. And I hope we’ll continue to improve especially as we expect Rain or Shine to come out and exert tremendous effort in Game Six,” Austria added.

Fajardo still came through with game-highs of 27 points and 12 rebounds – his lowest in the series – although he was on the bench as Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross and Chris Lutz teamed up in a decisive flurry from a slim 72-68 lead at the start of the final period.

Cabagnot scored 14 points, Santos and Marcio Lassiter delivered 12 apiece while Ross, Lutz and another SMB gunner Ronald Tubid combined for 26 markers.

Cabagnot, Lassiter, Santos, Tubid and Ross combined for nine triples as against only six of the E-Painters.

The Beermen lost Games Two and Three with Fajardo scoring 38 and 40. They won the next two games as the 6-foot-10 behemoth shared some load, scoring 33 in Game Four and 27 in Game Five. 

“No equal opportunities but equal roles to our players. Of course, Junmar is our biggest advantage and we have to exploit that,” said Austria.

Fajardo continued to deal Rain or Shine severe beating at the post while the SMB shooters outgunned their ROS counterparts as the Beermen surged ahead in the series against the E-Painters who continued to miss the services of big man Raymond Almazan.

JR Quiñahan, Jeff Chan, Jewel Ponferada and the returning Jericho Cruz put in at least 13 points each as the E-Painters fought the Beermen in a tense battle in the first three quarters.

The two teams engaged in eight deadlocks and 11 lead changes before the Beermen came through with a 10-3 closing run to take the opening half at 50-44.

It was a tight first half with neither team leading by more than seven.

The Beermen slowly broke away in the fourth, leading by 16 at 92-76 before breezing through to the nine-point victory.

Cabagnot and Lassiter fired a triple each while Santos knocked in a twinner as the Beermen led by seven at 48-41.

Jeff Chan ended their brief scoreless spell with a trey of his own before the Beermen ran a quick play from end-to-end with Fajardo drilling a short stab shortly before the final buzzer in the opening half.

In the next quarter, Ryan Araña beat the buzzer with a spinning move as the Beermen carried a 72-68 lead into the payoff period.

Fajardo picked his shots in the first half, going 7-of-8 from the field for 15 points. He was 11-of-17 for the game.

Meanwhile, there are unconfirmed reports Barako Bull would be leaving the PBA  for good.

A PBA ball club supposedly under the Lina Group of Companies, Barako Bull is reportedly in talks with a prospective buyer.

A reliable source expects the Barako Bull management to request for a special PBA board meeting to inform the board members of possible franchise sale before the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup – not if the talks bog down.

A franchise sale is subject to the approval of two-thirds of the membership of the 12-team local pro league.

The Lamoiyan Group and Racal Motors have submitted a letter of intent to join the league either through expansion or buying an existing franchise. But apparently, Barako Bull has attracted another franchise buyer.

Others reportedly signifying interest to join the PBA are Rebisco and SM which owns the MOA Arena in Pasay City.