San Miguel destroys Ginebra by 38 points to grab 2-1 lead
It was a two-point game at the half that turned to another lopsided game in the end.
Behind another demonstration of dominant firepower in the final half, San Miguel Beer crushed Barangay Ginebra, 132-94, anew for the 2-1 lead in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
The two teams fought a good battle in the first half but the Beermen then simply poured it in on the way to another blowout victory following a 134-109 rout in Game Two Sunday.
As in Game Two, Renaldo Balkman and all the SMB local aces put together an explosive showing, easily negating Justin Brownlee’s 32-point game.
Balkman produced 28 points and 11 rebounds, June Mar Fajardo collected 22 markers and 15 boards while Chris Ross sizzled with seven triples and a total of 23 points that went with seven rebounds and five assists.
Marcio Lassiter, Christian Standhardinger and Arwind Santos also came through with double-digit outputs for the mighty Beermen in this game.
“Weird series. I’m not expecting this. Lopsided matches in the first three games,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Ginebra tried to establish control early on a 21-14 start but San Miguel answered with a 16-6 salvo to take the opening quarter at 30-27 where Ross sizzled with a perfect 4-of-4 clip (3-of-3 from the arc) for 11 points.
Fajardo and Santos took over in the second quarter, cushioning Ginebra’s big bench production through Mark Caguioa, Kevin Ferrer and Japeth Aguilar as the Kings stayed in the lead at halftime, 53-51.
It was a nip-and-tuck first half where the two teams engaged in 10 deadlocks and the same number of lead changes. Neither side led by more than seven.
Then came San Miguel’s huge explosion in the third quarter to seize full control of the game.
The Beermen came back from the halftime break firing from practically from all angles, thus, blowing Ginebra off the floor for the second straight game.
Relatively silent through the first half, Balkman erupted for 13 points to lead their 39-21 tear to make it a 92-72 spread at the end of the third.
And the Beermen left no room for a Ginebra comeback, opening the final quarter with a 7-0 salvo and sustaining a dominant ride for a murderous triumph in the end.