How sweep it is
Magnolia and San Miguel Beer are a win away from sweeping their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semi final series but don’t bet on an easypeasy walk to the Last Dance. Both teams are going for the clincher at the MOA Arena today with the Chicken Timplados Hotshots taking on Phoenix at 3 p.m. and the Beermen engaging Barangay Ginebra at 6:30 p.m.
Top-seed Magnolia has beaten Phoenix thrice in as many meetings this conference, twice in the semis. The Super LPG Fuel Masters haven’t lost three in a row and they’re battling to stay alive. Phoenix coach Jamike Jarin, a master of innovation, surprised Magnolia counterpart Chito Victolero in Game 1 by opening with five players who’d never started since the Commissioner’s Cup began. Raul Soyud, Chris Lalata, RR Garcia, Raffy Verano and Ricci Rivero got Jarin’s nod with import Johnathan Williams coming off the bench. The ploy appeared to throw off Victolero’s gameplan with the scrambled matchups. But Williams turned out to be the unexpected round peg in a square hole as he went 4-of-11 from the field to finish with a conference-low 11 points. Still, the tussle featured 15 lead changes and 16 ties. Phoenix was up, 41-38, at the half and led by nine, 53-44, in the third quarter. The count was knotted, 78-all, with 1:51 left then Williams missed a free throw and Jason Perkins flubbed a triple at the buzzer as Magnolia held on to win, 82-79. Magnolia had more turnover points, 14-8, second chance points, 16-2, points in the paint, 40-24, and fastbreak points, 12-3, to keep Phoenix at arm’s length and clinch it down the stretch.
In Game 2, Phoenix led by five, 76-71, with 4:13 left in the fourth then collapsed as Magnolia fired an 11-2 closer to win, 82-78. The Fuel Masters had four turnovers, Williams clanked two foul shots and Tyler Tio, Williams and Javee Mocon missed triples to finish with a whimper. Once again, Magnolia capitalized on Phoenix’ miscues to score more turnover points, 26-7, and the Hotshots’ defense spelled the difference.
San Miguel pipped Ginebra, 92-90, in Game 1 with the lethal trio of Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez accounting for a combined 67 points or 74 percent of the team’s output. In Game 2, Marcio Lassiter joined the blast party with 16 points as San Miguel outscored Ginebra from beyond the arc by nine points and the line by five. Tony Bishop isn’t Justin Brownlee and is averaging only one assist in the semis so the locals can’t expect the same kind of passing. That means less reliance on Bishop and more production from the locals to survive. Expect fireworks in both contests as Phoenix and Ginebra must do or else die.