The San Miguel Beermen, on a 10-game winning streak, faced Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, who were riding a seven-game unbeaten run, in the nightcap of Sunday’s PBA Philippine Cup semifinals action at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. True to expectations, the two teams delivered yet another slugfest, with both Ginebra and San Miguel showing out before the former ended the game with a flourish to earn a 99-90 victory and take Game 1 of the best-of-seven semifinals series.
What Happened?
Ginebra struck first, leaning on an aggressive and assertive Scottie Thompson to take a 26-18 first-quarter lead. San Miguel cut that lead down to two, 48-46, heading into intermission, with a 28-22 second quarter anchored on June Mar Fajardo’s paint dominance and timely hits from Juami Tiongson.
The Beermen continued to play well in the third quarter, with Fajardo, the leading candidate for Best Player of the Conference, proving nearly unstoppable inside. San Miguel outscored Ginebra in the third, 27-24, to hold a 73-72 lead heading into the payoff period. But four consecutive treys—one by Ralph Cu, followed by back-to-back shots by Norbert Torres, and another by Cu—allowed the crowd darlings to take the lead for good, 84-81.
Who Stood Out?
Ginebra relied on a complete team effort to snap San Miguel’s 10-game winning run, with Scottie Thompson and RJ Abarrientos leading the way. Thompson finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Abarrientos put up a team-high 23 points and 7 assists. Cu and Torres, along with Jayson David, combined for 31 points off the bench to spark Ginebra’s second unit.
San Miguel, in contrast, could not get much from anyone else besides June Mar Fajardo and CJay Perez. Fajardo, though, proved more than capable and nearly led the Beermen to a Game 1 win. The Kraken posted a monstrous 27-point, 23-rebound double-double on 11-of-15 shooting from the field. However, he was just 5-of-12 from the charity stripe.
3 Keys to the Game
- Three-point shooting. Ginebra made 12 three-balls versus San Miguel, roughly in line with the team’s average of 10 treys a game. The key, though, was the timing of these triples: the crowd darlings hit four long balls in the fourth to nudge ahead, 84-81.
- Bench play. Tim Cone has previously said the Ginebra bench would play a key role in the team’s campaign in the PBA Philippine Cup, and it did so in Game 1 against San Miguel. Led by Abarrientos’ 23 markers, the Ginebra bench outscored San Miguel’s, 54-29. In fact, the trio of Torres, Cu, and David alone had more points than the Beermen’s bench mob, 31-29. Moreover, it was Cu and Torres who led the crowd darlings’ fourth-quarter uprising.
- Free throw shooting. Both teams got to the line frequently, with San Miguel attempting 31 free throws and Ginebra 28. Neither team shot particularly well, with San Miguel going 15-of-31 and Ginebra 19-of-28. However, San Miguel missed most of its free throws in the third quarter, when it was starting to create some semblance of separation. Had the Beermen converted those attempts, they could have built a bigger lead heading into the fourth, potentially altering the complexion of Game 1 entirely.
Next Up for the PBA
The PBA Philippine Cup semifinals continue on Wednesday, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with Meralco and TNT playing in the nightcap. Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Miguel Beermen will open the action in Game 2 of their own series.
Ginebra vs. San Miguel (5:15 p.m.)
Meralco vs. TNT (7:30 p.m.)
