Even an 11 day break could not stop the rampage of the San Miguel Beermen.
The long lay-off by the San Miguel Beermen did more good than harm as the San Miguel Beermen picked up their fourth straight win at the expense of the struggling Meralco Bolts, 101-86, Wednesday evening at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
With the win, San Miguel sits on top of the standings with a 5-1 record, one win shy of clinching a playoff berth. On the other hand, Meralco falls to 2-4.
“I think the game we’ve shown tonight is what we wanted,” San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said. “Last game, we told them to be consistent because if we are consistent.”
Marcio Lassiter led the pounding with 21 points that included three triples. Alex Cabagnot added 20 points in just 21 minutes, on an efficient 7-for-11 shooting
After scoring the first basket of the game — Meralco’s only lead of the game, San Miguel surged past Meralco the rest of the way. Even if reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo was limited to just two first half points, excellent guard play by the Beermen more than made up for it.
“I’m thankful that the players played well in the game especially with June Mar scoring just two points [in the first half],” Austria furthered. “Everybody is working really hard to win the game. We wanted to end the year on a winning note.”
Cabagnot went guns blazing in the opening frame, scoring 12 points, while Lassiter erupted for 10 markers during the second quarter. A 9-2 run by the Beermen, capped by a breakaway layup by Cabagnot gave San Miguel the biggest lead of the game, 58-27.
Behind a strong third frame by Chris Newsome and Joseph Yeo — the latter playing only in the second half, the Bolts were able to slowly chop the lead. Moreover, things got chippy during the third frame as Cliff Hodge was assessed a flagrant foul after clipping Cabagnot with 8:10 left. San Miguel’s gunslinger was able to make the free throws resulting from it but did not return to the game for precautionary measures.
“Cabagnot went straight to the hospital due to a broken nose. He played hard tonight and he wants to win. Unfortunately tinamaan siya,” Austria shared. “He’s a tough guy and he really wanted to come back. We did not want to sacrifice him for this game.”
A find by Yeo to big man Kelly Nabong cut the lead to single digits, 79-88, with 5:40 left. June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross, and Arwind Santos were able to restore order for the Beermen.
Fajardo picked up another double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.
San Miguel shot 46 percent from the field and knocked down 11 three-pointers in the game. On the other hand, Meralco were a miserable 35 percent.
Newsome notched an odd triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 turnovers. Baser Amer and Yeo added 12 points each.
The San Miguel Beermen (5-1) look to continue its winning ways on Friday, January 6 as they face the Blackwater Elite (4-3) at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. On the other hand, the Meralco Bolts (2-4) looks to end the rot they are in when they face the Globalport Batang Pier (3-3) on the same day at 4:00pm.
The Scores:
San Miguel (101) – Lassiter 21, Cabagnot 20, Ross 18, Fajardo 11, Tubid 10, Santos 9, De Ocampo 4, Agovida 3, Garcia 2, Heruela 2, Espinas 1.
Meralco (86) – Newsome 16, Yeo 12, Amer 12, Nabong 9, Hodge 7, Hugnatan 6, Uyloan 6, Caram 6, Bono 6, Daquioag 2, Faundo 2, Al-Hussaini 2, Grey 0.
Quarterscores: 32-13, 58-27, 79-63, 101-86
