Beermen spill Fuel Masters in Game 1

Game tonight (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

6:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs Magnolia Hotshots 

                   RoS leads series, 1-0

MANILA, Philippines — Reigning champ San Miguel Beer blew by top seed Phoenix Pulse in the middle quarters then expertly quashed the latter’s late uprising to take the opener of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series, 100-88, last night at the MOA Arena.

The Beermen turned to a lot of heroes to fend off the Fuel Masters in a highly physical Game One that saw June Mar Fajardo limited to his lowest season outputs of nine points and nine rebounds, fouling out, and forced to sit out a good part of the second quarter after a bad fall off an entanglement with Calvin Abueva’s legs

They were led by Alex Cabagnot, who rifled in 26 points spiked by five triples, plus seven assists and three steals. Cabagnot fired most of his snipings in the first half, sparking the Beermen to a 43-31 tear, which they later stretched to 24 in the third, and helping them with the bailout in the face of Phoenix’s fightback. 

“We’re thakful for this win because before the start of the game, we were really worried as we didn’t have enough time to prepare (after the quarterfinal series) whereas they (Phoenix) have been practicing for quite some time,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.

“And despite the physicality of Phoenix, the players were so focused, they had the sense of urgency because they know the importance of the first game in the series,” he added.

Chris Ross (with 14 points), Marcio Lassiter (14), Christian Standhardinger (12) were also on point as they somehow offset Fajardo’s foul-riddled production in 25 minutes, which was far off his league-best averages of 22.6 markers and 12.9 boards.

The five-time MVP got hurt as he landed on his face off a rebound battle at the 3:33 mark of the second and took a couple of minutes before getting up. He eventually got the doctor’s clearance to resume play and even started the third.

Matthew Wright led Phoenix with 22 markers, as Abueva logged 18, making 11 of them in the final canto where the Fuel Masters managed to close the gap, 82-89, with still 4:46 left.

Meanwhile, after jumping the gun on a stunned Magnolia Hotshots, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters brace for a far more adjusted opponent tonight when they gun for a 2-0 lead in their own semifinal series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Elasto Painters sprung a surprise on the Hotshots, banking on young guns Javee Mocon, Kris Rosales and Rey Nambatac to wipe out an eight-point deficit and seize control in the third before turning to veterans Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood for the mop-up to an 84-77 victory last Friday.

The scores: 

San Miguel 100 – Cabagnot 26, Ross 14, Lassiter 14, Standhardinger 12, Santos 9, Fajardo 9, Tubid 6, Romeo 5, Pessumal 5, Rosser 0, Nabong 0.

Phoenix 88 – Wright 22, Abueva 18, Jazul 11, Mallari 11, Revilla 7, Perkins 6, Chua 5, Marcelo 4, Intal 3, Kramer 1, Mendoza 0, Dennison 0.

Quarterscores: 21-27, 49-39, 81-59, 100-88.