SMB back on familiar ground

MANILA, Philippines — Five-peat-seeking San Miguel Beer returned to familiar ground at this time of the season ­– the PBA Philippine Cup finals.

Bombarding Phoenix Pulse with a barrage of treys to seize control early then hanging tough in the windup, the Beermen delivered the KO punch on the Fuel Masters, 105-94, to win their semifinal series, 4-1, and advance to a franchise record fifth consecutive championship appearance last night at Cuneta Astrodome.

“We’re so grateful we’re back in the finals. This is our fifth time,” said SMB coach Leo Austria, who’s victorious in all four previous stints in the finale.

The Beermen await the result of the other semis showdown between Magnolia and Rain or Shine to know their challenger in the championship series kicking off May 1.

Chris Ross (24 points) and Alex Cabagnot (22) presided over a searing offensive, knocking down five of SMB’s 14 triples to help push SMB comfortably ahead early on.

June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos chipped in 17 and 14, respectively, in the closeout, where the Beermen led by as many as 25.

“We needed to have a good start and that’s what we had today,” said Austria.

With Ross and Cabagnot – and later Von Pessumal and Terrence Romeo – firing long bombs, SMB raced to a 51-39 lead after 24 minutes. 

The Beermen maintained a 92-78 margin in the fourth before the no-quit Fuel Masters launched one final attempt at fightback behind Matthew Wright and LA Revilla, coming to within four at 92-96. Fajardo, Arwind Santos and Romeo then stepped forward to complete the mop-up.

“We led by 25 and we thought they gave up. It’s human nature to relax and feel the pressure, that’s why they managed to come back but fortunately, we have players like Terrence Romeo, who may not have been scoring but he made a crucial two points (that restored a 100-94 cushion),” said Austria.

Wright (20), Justin Chua (18) and Revilla (15) led the way for Phoenix, which played its first ever semis stint.

Meanwhile, Magnolia vows to leave nothing to chance as it seeks to finish off Rain or Shine tonight at the Ynares Center in Antipolo and book a return trip to the All-Pinoy tournament championship series.

“We’ll try our best to close it out on Friday; we know Rain or Shine can come back,” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero, whose charges reversed the tide against the hot-starting Elasto Painters by racking up three straight, including a clutch 82-74 decision in Game Five that moved them closer to the Last Dance.

The E-Painters are really not about to give up. “I still remain positive,” ROS mentor Caloy Garcia said.

Notes: Magnolia gunner Paul Lee, who was totally shut down after scoring in double figures in the Hotshots’ last 11 games, didn’t mind laying a big fat egg in their go-ahead 82-74 triumph last Wednesday. “I’m okay with being scoreless,” said Lee who missed all his eight attempts. “They’re doing a good job taking away my game so I was just taking what the defense is giving. The good thing was my teammates got open.” Lee found a silver lining in his performance. “I might have ended up scoreless but I was plus-11 the entire game so that’s okay,” he said, adding how Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon filled his shoes. “Good to see them get back their confidence.”