SMB rips Phoenix in early show of might

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer, drawing the usual spark and firepower from its Magnificent Five, clobbered Phoenix Petroleum, 104-96, in a rousing start in its four-peat quest in the 2017-18 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross, easily the most devastating starting unit in the league at least in the last four years, played as lethal as they can be, powering the Beermen past the Phoenix team that made a good impression in the offseason games.

Fajardo and Santos both started the new season with a double-double game, with the former collecting 23 points and 16 rebounds and the latter 14 markers and 11 boards.

Cabagnot added 22 points, including three triples, Lassiter chipped in 20 markers spiked by four treys while Ross piled up 16 points, nine assists and six rebounds as the Beermen picked up from last season where they dominated with a cumulative 43-15 win-loss record – the best in the league since Crispa’s 46-16 mark in its 1983 grand slam season.

“I was wary of Phoenix because they played well in the (preseason) pocket tournament. Good thing, our guys showed their readiness to defend the title,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

“With our intact lineup, we played like a well-oiled machine,” Austria added.

The Beermen started the game with an 8-0 roll, roared to a 17-point spread in the third and quickly repelled a Phoenix rally midway through the fourth to spoil Louie Alas’ debut as the Fuel Masters head coach.

Jeff Chan sizzled with a 4-of-5 three-point shooting and sparked Phoenix’s fourth-quarter charge that had the Fuel Masters coming to within five at 80-85.

The Beermen, however, stormed away again at 103-84 on a searing combined flurry by Lassiter and Fajardo.

With his last of four triples, Lassiter reestablished a double-digit bulge for San Miguel at 95-84.

“Good win but it can’t be considered yet as gauge on what we can do in the tourney. Just every team has a different mindset now. They all beefed up their lineups, and their battle cry is to beat San Miguel,” said Austria.

“Many people were saying we’re the team to beat. But there are many tough teams out there. Ginebra has a twin tower to match up with June Mar. NLEX looks very capable and TNT had its offseason training abroad,” Austria added.