Despite playing just three days ago, the San Miguel Beermen did not show any signs of a let-down, romping the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 102-90, to draw first blood in their best-of-seven semifinals series.
Just as they have done over the last three Philippine Cups, the Beermen were dominant. Despite being rewarded with just five free throw attempts, San Miguel shot the lights out, shooting 50.6 percent from the field while knocking down 16 triples. San Miguel led by as much as 19 points, 64-45, in the third frame, while the bench fended off every late comeback attempt by the Gin Kings.
Still, even if it is a huge relief for them to pick up the early series lead, Arwind Santos and head coach Leo Austria know that this is just the beginning of a long grind for them.
“Napakalaking bagay nito. Natikman na namin yung bungang matamis at gusto namin ang bunga.
“Next time sana makaulit naman kami at makuha namin yung pangalawang panalo,” shared Santos, who had 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting to go along with eight rebounds.
“I think in a series it’s very important to win your first game,” added Austria.
“But we cannot rest on our laurels because we know Ginebra is playing really well before this game.”
San Miguel know full well how tough Ginebra can be. A year ago, the Beermen needed to dig deep against Ginebra during the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals to win their third-straight All-Filipino crown.
“Kami alam namin si Tim Cone na marami siyang gagawing adjustment at hindi rin sila agad agad bibitaw agad agad,” the 12-year pro expressed. “Kami yung confidence namin, kung ano yung laro namin, kailangan di namin baguhin. Kung kailangan magdagdag pa, hindi kasi kahit nanalo kami wala na kaming kailangan iimprove pa. Marami pa rin.
“Pero hindi namin gusto maging perfect kasi nobody’s perfect nga. Kung yung nilaro namin 70 percent, kahit mga five percent lang next game malamang makukuha parin namin ang panalo.”
Besides Santos, many other Beermen stepped-up in this game. With June Mar Fajardo limited to just nine markers, Von Pessumal led the bench mob with 18 markers while the recently-recovered Alex Cabagnot and resident sharpshooter Marcio Lassiter fired 15 and 17 points respectively.
Seeing this, the former Most Valuable Player hopes they can sustain this for the rest of the playoffs.
“Siyempre nakakatuwa naman pero nagiging successful ang San Miguel team dahil hindi sa isa or dalawa, lahat kami nagsstep-up, nagsisimula sa mga utilities, lahat ng mga coaches, kaya kami ganito maglaro, pagka nangarap ang isa sa amin gusto namin suportahan,” expressed Santos, who is gunning for his seventh crown.
“Ang maganda nito, pare-parehas kami ng pangarap kaya lahat kami nagkakaisa.”
