San Miguel shoots down Phoenix, books first semifinals ticket

MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen went off for 6 triples in the first 7 minutes of the ballgame, finishing with 16 in all, and cruised to a 115-96 win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday, June 6, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The second seed, twice-to-beat Beermen disposed of their foes in one game to become the first team through to the semifinals, where they await the winner between Rain or Shine and Star for a best-of-5 affair.

This is San Miguel’s 6th straight semifinals appearance. The team is gunning for its first Commissioner’s Cup title under coach Leo Austria.

“With this win, we’re so happy because we were able to meet the expectations of so many people, especially the management,” said Austria.

“They’re expecting us to be in the semifinals. I have to commend all the players because they know what’s at stake in this game. They really wanted to get into the semifinals right away because we don’t want to have another game.”

Marcio Lassiter paced San Miguel with a game-high 26 points, lighting it up for 5-of-10 shooting from distance. He also picked up 4 rebounds, 4 assists, and two steals, leading 6 Beermen in double figures.

Alex Cabagnot led the 3-point assault with 6-of-12 makes from deep for 20 markers. His impressive statline also included 8 rebounds and 6 assists, though he did give up 4 turnovers.

Import Charles Rhodes added 14 points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks as June Mar Fajardo contributed 15 markers and 8 boards.

Phoenix had Jameel McKay leading the way with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while RJ Jazul registered 14 markers. But they missed the offensive firepower of Matthew Wright, who attempted only 10 shots and made 3 for 9 points. Wright did create for his teammates to tally 7 assists.

JC Intal and Gelo Alolino provided back-up with 12 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.

Phoenix stayed with San Miguel in terms of scoring output in 3 quarters except the second, where they were outscored by 29-16 and fell behind, never recovering.

It was enough separation for the Beermen to pounce and build leads of up to 28.

Scores: 

San Miguel (115): Lassiter 26, Cabagnot 20, Fajardo 15, Rhodes 14, Tubid 14, Ross 11, Santos 8, Espinas 4, McCarthy 3, Heruela 0, Reyes 0, Agovida 0. 

Phoenix (96): McKay 20, Jazul 14, Intal 12, Alolino 11, Wright 9, Baguio 7, Eriobu 6, J. Wilson 6, Miranda 4, Dehesa 3, Hayes 2, Lanete 2, Torres 0, Borboran 0, W. Wilson 0, Kramer 0. 

Quarter scores: 28-21, 57-37, 88-69, 115-96.

– Rappler.com