Beermen break through with emphatic rout of Painters
San Miguel Beer certainly felt a sense of relief that it finally got a first win in the PBA Philippine Cup, pulling it out against a side that was certainly capable of extending the Beermen’s woeful start to their title defense.
Entering the game, the losers of their first two games, the Beermen’s 111-93 rout of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday also came in handy for coach Leo Austria, not in the sense of not putting to waste the long road trip to Ynares Center in Rodriguez, Rizal, but also the team’s next destination.
“It (would have been) a disaster going to Dubai if we went 0-3,” Austria said as San Miguel now puts its focus on the big battle with Barangay Ginebra the following Sunday in the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city, where a significant number of Filipinos are based.
CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter headlined the win that atoned for San Miguel’s losses to NLEx and Phoenix, while getting some momentum against a Ginebra team that has also gone 1-2 thus far in the season-opening conference.
Perez had 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals, while Lassiter shrugged off being elbowed in the nose inadvertently by Rain or Shine’s Santi Santillan midway in the second quarter to knock down all of his 18 points in the second half.
Austria could only laud his team for what he has emphasized almost after each loss—the players showing their pride—being the defending champions.
“With this win, I think it will give us a lot of confidence and we have something in our pockets going to Dubai,” said Austria. “But if we (had) lost, it would be hard to motivate the players.”
June Mar Fajardo and Juami Tiongson plus Jericho Cruz also came through for San Miguel, which will now spend the next five days preparing for the Ginebra showdown before leaving on Friday.
“We have to prepare hard because Ginebra lost their last game,” Austria said. “We have to play harder in order for us to win the game against Ginebra,” said Austria.
Ginebra blew out TNT, 92-77, before losing to Meralco, 89-75, after squandering a 16-point third quarter lead.
Meralco and Magnolia were playing at press time, with the Bolts out to win their third in a row after going 0-2 and deal the Hotshots their first loss after a 2-0 start.
The Bolts are also set to board a flight on Monday, albeit in Japan for the start of their East Asia Super League campaign against the B.League’s Ryukyu Golden Kings at midweek.
