Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and the San Miguel Beermen ran things back on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the former looking to extend its eight-game winning run and the latter aiming to bounce back from their Game 1 defeat. Early on, it looked like Ginebra was going to go ahead 2-0 in the PBA Philippine Cup semis with a ferocious defensive effort. But San Miguel recovered just in time and got a timely boost from Jeron Teng to rally past the crowd darlings for a 93–84 victory that tied the two teams’ semis series at one game apiece.
What Happened?
Ginebra flashed some ferocious defense right from the get-go and turned the first half into a battle in the trenches. Tim Cone’s wards stifled the Beermen into just 34 points in the first 24 minutes of Game 2 to establish control early.
But San Miguel began climbing back in the third, powered by three Marcio Lassiter triples and June Mar Fajardo going to work in the paint. The Beermen went on to take a 65–63 lead after three after outscoring Ginebra, 31–21. What was supposed to be a fourth-quarter dogfight, however, ultimately turned into a rout as “magic bunot” Jeron Teng led a 28–21 finishing kick.
Who Stood Out?
June Mar Fajardo was a tower of power once more for the Beermen, posting his second straight 20–20 with a 21-point, 23-rebound effort. He also got surprise help from seldom-used Jeron Teng, who fired 12 of his 13 total points in the payoff period to spark the Beermen’s strong second-half effort.
For Ginebra, it was the backcourt of Stephen Holt and RJ Abarrientos that mostly carried the fight, with each firing 18 in the losing cause.
3 Keys to the Game
- Bench play. Ginebra’s Game 1 win was mostly fueled by Cone’s bench mob, who outplayed their counterparts in San Miguel. But the Beermen bench flipped the script in Game 2, led by Jeron Teng and a rejuvenated Don Trollano. In all, Teng and company outscored their Ginebra counterparts, 44–37.
- Offensive rebounds. Ginebra played good defense for long stretches in Game 2, but too often they failed to finish defensive efforts with rebounds, leading to 19 offensive caroms from the Beermen. Fajardo accounted for 10 of those, and San Miguel’s advantage on that end resulted in a 13–6 edge in second-chance points.
- Free throw shooting. The Beermen missed 16 of their 31 freebies in Game 1. They did not let that happen again in Game 2 as they went 16-for-22 from the charity stripe. Ginebra shot 80% from the line, but they only got there 10 times.
Next Up for the PBA
The PBA Philippine Cup semis will continue on Friday, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The TNT Tropang 5G and Meralco Bolts will open Friday action with Game 3 of their semis series, followed by Ginebra and San Miguel running it back a third time in the nightcap.
Meralco vs. TNT (5:15 p.m.)
Ginebra vs. San Miguel (7:30 p.m.)
