Bay Area dumps SMB, nears finals

This time, Bay Area made it look so easy beating defending champion San Miguel Beer, 114-95, in Game 2 of their best-of-five semifinals series in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Philsports Arena on 16 December.

Unlike in the first game when the Dragons pulled off a win only at the last minute, the Hong Kong-based squad dominated the winningest team in PBA history with an impressive 58 percent (43-of-74) shooting from the field.

But even more significant was their three-point shooting, knocking down 17 of 31 attempts (54 percent) from beyond the arc.

Bay Area wasn't just hitting from inside and out, but it also limited the production of San Miguel's supporting crew, which normally made things easier for six-time league Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo.

Terrence Romeo and CJ Perez, who combined for 45 points in Game 1, were shackled by the defenders of Bay Area making do only 18 markers together, leaving Fajardo as the lone bright spot for the Beermen with 35 points and 10 rebounds.

However, his monster numbers were not enough to match the Dragons as the guest squad now moved a win away from advancing to the championship round.

The scores:

BAY AREA 114 – Nicholson 34, Lam 25, Yang 13, Zhu 13, Blankley 11, Liu 10, Ju 4, Zheng 2, Reid 2, Song 0, Ewing 0, Si 0, Liang 0

SAN MIGUEL 95 – Fajardo 35, Lassiter 15, Scott 14, Perez 13, Manuel 9, Romeo 5, Brondial 2, Zamar 2, Enciso 0, Ross 0, Cruz 0, Canete 0

QUARTERS: 26-25, 52-42, 80-66, 114-95