Freeman fuels SMB romp; 'Rain' scores

MANILA, Philippines - Gabe Freeman came through with another solid double-double game with 35 points and 16 rebounds and San Miguel Beer made a decisive move early en route to a 100-88 win over Burger King in Game Three of their Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven semifinal showdown at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Rain or Shine pounced on Barangay Ginebra’s listless game early on, pulling off a 94-88 win and a 2-1 lead in the other semis series.

Gabe Norwood and Jai Lewis churned out a double-double game with Eddie Laure and TY Tang put in double-digit outputs as the Elasto Painters moved to within two wins of a first-ever finals stint.

“As of now we’re still underachievers, and we want to achieve more,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.

Beaten in a close game by the Whoppers in Game Two, Freeman and the Beermen broke away early and showed poise under pressure at endgame to duplicate their convincing victory in the opener of their series last Wednesday.

“Whatever they say, playoff basketball is about defense. We lost track of that in Game Two and we just tried to recoup that today,” said coach Siot Tanquingcen after his Beermen gained a 2-1 lead in the series.

“We made sure to come out aggressively on defense. And I think the first-half percentage is a good indication,” said Tanquingcen, noting the defense they put up in the first two quarters, limiting the Whoppers to 28.6-percent field goal shooting for a mere 35-point output.

Hitting at a 51.3-percent clip on the other end, the Beermen established a huge lead early, sitting on a 20-point cushion at halftime and completing the wire-to-wire triumph.

Arwind Santos got away with 22 points on top of seven rebounds but the other half of the BK scoring machine – Gary David – was held scoreless.

David, who normed 16.5 points in the tournament, failed to a score a single basket in a game for the first time in his last 63 outings in the pro league.

Shawn Daniels grabbed 18 rebounds and issued nine assists but struggled for only eight points in 42 minutes of action.

“It’s human nature for a player to relax after a big win. We fell into that trap in Game Two. Our challenge now is to remain constant putting up a solid defensive effort in each game,” said Tanquingcen.

Freeman worked hard on both ends of the court, asserting himself right in the early going of the contest.

The SMB import got 11 points, five rebounds and one shot block in the opening quarter which the Beermen took, 30-21. The team then cranked up its running to lead by as many as 22 before settling for a 20-point spread at the turn.

The Beermen faced some pressure in the second half but Freeman himself fended off the BK threat, pouring in 10 in the third period and 12 in the payoff quarter.

Freeman eventually clinched the SMB win with a four-point binge after the Whoppers came within six at 83-89 with less than two minutes left to play.