Games tomorrow:
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
5 p.m. --- TNT vs Rain or Shine
7:30 p.m. --- San Miguel vs Ginebra
San Miguel Beer ignited a scorching third quarter run complemented by stingy defense in a convincing 107-82 Game 4 victory to level the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinals series Wednesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Trailing by two in the early goings of the second half, the Beermen unleashed a blinding 17-0 barrage while limiting the Kings to just 12 points to set the tone for the blowout that tied the best-of-seven showdown to 2-2.
Beermen coach Leo Austria was all smiles with the response of his wards after getting manhandled in the last match.
“It’s very obvious that the energy of the team was very high. We were able to match up with their energy,” Austria said.
San Miguel also shot better from the field, hitting 24-of-47 from the perimeter and 14-of-28 from the three-point area.
“Also, a lot of our perimeter shooting went in, unlike before. Today, we also shot 50 percent from the three-point area. Last time it was 3-of-28,” Austria added.
“And I think we also focused on our defense. As you can see, they (Kings) issued only 18 assists, quite high for a regular team, but they are averaging 25 assists. That means our defense is working.”
No team has won back-to-back games in the series but San Miguel will try to snap the trend in the pivotal Game 5 tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
CJ Perez dropped 19 points, dished out seven assists and pulled down five rebounds in a productive 35-minute outing for the Beermen.
Well-rested eight-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, who remained bothered by a calf injury he sustained in Game 1, showed improved movement on the floor. The 6-foot-10 center started for the first time after coming off the bench in the previous two games and submitted a double-double of 12 markers and 19 boards.
Juami Tiongson finished with 14 markers, Rodney Brondial and Jericho Cruz got 12 points each while Don Trollano added 11 for San Miguel, which lost Andreas Cahilig to a left knee contusion following a contact with Jeremiah Gray at the start of the second quarter.
The Beermen went down, 56-58, with 9:45 left before Tiongson, Perez and Brondial anchored the decisive turnaround for a 73-58 advantage in the last 5:21 of the third period.
San Miguel built its biggest lead, 107-80, on a Trollano four-pointer with 61 seconds remaining in the final canto.
Troy Rosario had 14 points, Jamie Malonzo chipped in 12 while Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar finished with 11 and 10, respectively, for Ginebra.