Beermen roll back Aces, cut deficit to 1-2

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer, losing two close battles early on, raised its game a notch higher and clobbered a stunned Alaska Milk side, 96-80, to close in at 1-2 in their PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven title showdown at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Beermen played extra aggressively on both ends, throwing the Aces out of their comfort zone as they fashioned out an emphatic win to pump life back on their sagging title-retention campaign.

With the momentum shifting to their side, the Beermen look to draw level in Game Four set at 7 p.m. tomorrow at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.

Coming out with a sense of urgency, the Beermen established control right at the start and led by as many as 24 points, 56-32, before completing the rousing win.

Showing energy and intensity lacking in their game Friday and Sunday, SMB took the opening quarter at 22-18, pulled away in the next period, 49-30, and was hardly threatened the rest of the way.

The Beermen were all business as shown by their domination off the boards, 49-29, and their defensive stoppages that helped fuel their fluid transition plays.

San Miguel forced Alaska to commit 12 turnovers just in one quarter, and the Beermen pounced on the situation in building the 19-point spread at halftime.

It was all SMB show from then on as the Beermen never let up, keeping the pressure on the Aces until the finish.

“Basically, we just did the thing that carried us past the elims and the semis. Defense was the focal point of our game tonight,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“Everybody has been talking about their talent. Today, they’re able to play that talent. We let them play their formidable talent,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

With tremendous help from his teammates, Gabe Freeman beat Diamon Simpson in their match-up this time with the SMB import collecting 24 points and 20 rebounds as against the latter’s 16 markers and 11 boards.

Jay Washington also churned out double-double numbers with 23 points and 10 rebounds while Arwind Santos chipped in 18 points and Danny Ildefonso added 10.

Olsen Racela saw action for nine minutes in the payoff period, becoming only the fifth player in league history to have played at least 900 games.

The first four who played 900 games or more were Abet Guidaben (1081), Ramon Fernandez (1074), Robert Jaworski (958) and Philip Cezar (918).

Tanquingcen said they’re still down and face a tough battle against Alaska.

“No room to celebrate yet or even think we’ve done anything. The stakes are higher in Game Four so I expect a more physical game,” said Tanquingcen.