San Miguel Beer stirred back to life in Game 3 and sent a strong signal that their best-of-seven Fiesta Conference championship series with the Alaska Aces is far from over after the Aces had taken a comfortable 2-0 lead.
“Best Import” Gabe Freeman redeemed himself from an awful stint in Game 2 and the Beermen displayed a sense of urgency not seen from them in the first two games as the defending champions smothered the Alaska Aces, 96-80, Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Although coach Tim Cone’s squad still maintains a 2-1 lead momentum may have shifted to the Beermen, who avoided a sweep that appeared imminent when the Aces completely dominated them in Games 1 and 2.
Freeman scored 24 points and dominated the boards with 20 rebounds, making up for his forgettable effort in Game 2 where he was held to a conference-low 13 points. In fact Freeman led the way in demonstrating San Miguel’s dominance.
San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen whose job as head coach appeared to be on the line after going down 0-2 said “We did very little in terms of adjustment. It’s more like keeping them positive and reminding them of what got us here.” However, Tanquingcen made it clear that the first win in the series was not enough reason for them to start celebrating saying “We can’t lose our focus. We won one game but we’re still down.”
The team that showed up in Game 3 was a completely different SMB team. They were energetic, rotated quickly on defense and contested every shot Alaska took — something that was not exhibited by the SMB crew that was completely overmatched in Games 1 and 2.
Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is on Friday at the Cuneta Astrodome and Game 5 will be on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Mythical Team members Jay Washington and Arwind Santos proved their worth with Washington, the most consistent player among the Beermen, ending up with 23 points and 10 rebounds and Santos adding 18.
The PBA game story said the Beeremen got their running game early and with their defense clicking well took a 22-18 lead after one quarter.
Then Freeman, the conference’s Best Import for the second straight year, took over, exploding for 14 points in the second period and spearheading a 17-0 run that ripped the game apart.
Washington, who teamed up with Santos to contain Alaska import Diamon Simpson, ended that spurt with a 3-pointer that gave SMB a 39-20 bubble that held the rest of the way.
It was an ugly loss for the Aces after solid back-to-back games and Alaska coach Tim Cone offered no excuses. “We let them play to their formidable talent. And we didn’t handle the early distraction well,” Cone said.
He added: “It’s a typical response from a team with a 2-0 lead. We fell into the trap. We just believed the hype that we’re much better than what we are.”
Cone said the loss was a wake-up call and it’s probably something the team needs to get its focus back.
Simpson was limited to 4-of-9 shooting and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Joe Devance added 12 and Cyrus Baguio had 11 for the Aces, who were plastered off the boards, 49-29.
With SMB also dominating the offensive boards (21-8), the defending champions managed to earn a 15-8 advantage on second chance points.
Olsen Racela, the veteran SMB guard, banged in three triples on the way to earning a personal milestone. He played his 900th game, fifth in the list of all-time most games played in a career. He trails league pioneers Alberto Guidaben (1081), Ramon Fernandez (974), Robert JAworski (958) and Philip Cezar (918). (DBC)
The scores:
San Miguel 96 – Freeman 24, Washington 23, Santos 18, Ildefonso 10, Racela 9, Miranda 4, Yeo 3,Hontiveros 3, Cabagnot 2, Pennisi 0, Villanueva 0, Pena 0.
Alaska 80 – Simpson 16, De Vance 12, Baguio 11, Fonacier 8, Thoss 8, Tenorio 7, Dela Cruz 6, Eman 5, Cariaso 4, Hugnatan 3, Borboran 0.
Quarters: 22-18, 49-30, 71-54, 96-80.
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