Beermen toy with listless Elite
San Miguel Beer imposed its will against a hapless Blackwater side and fashioned out a 118-93 rout to start its chase of the last gem in a grand slam in the PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here last night.
The Beermen picked up where they left off last conference, outclassing the Elite with consummate ease behind the big games of Wendell McKines, Marcio Lassiter, June Mar Fajardo, Gabby Espinas and Arwind Santos.
Later in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special, Meralco unleashed a decisive 15-3 run from a 58-all count and rolled past Rain or Shine, 89-73, for a third straight win.
Allen Durham, Jared Dillinger, Reynel Hugnatan and Chris Newsome took charge as they ruined an otherwise bright night for the E-Painters and James Yap who joined the league’s elite 10,000-point club.
Yap, a two-time MVP winner, became the 14th member of the group after Atoy Co, Francis Arnaiz, Mon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben, Philip Cezar, Bogs Adornado, Robert Jaworski, Allan Caidic, Alvin Patrimonio, Benjie Paras, Jojo Lastimosa, Nelson Asaytono and Jerry Codiñera.
Meralco coach Norman Black also hit the mark as a legendary import.
“It’s our best start coming from a championship,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
“We’ve won five championships. Before, we always struggled in our first game. This time, the guys kept their sharpness coming from a long break. There were players who even took an extended break but they stayed sharp,” Austria pointed out.
McKines, Lassiter, Fajardo, Espinas and Santos all came through with big numbers as the Beermen eased to a win made easier by the early exit of Blackwater import Trevis Simpson on a strained muscle.
The Blackwater import played nine minutes in the first half and sat out the rest of the way.
Minus Simpson, the Elite simply had no answer for the Beermen’s firepower, and Blackwater went down with a third straight loss after earlier setbacks against the Meralco Bolts (78-107) and the Star Hotshots (86-103).
The Beermen, now on track to win a Triple Crown after ruling the Philippine Cup and the Commissioner’s Cup, unleashed one big run after another in racing to a 59-36 halftime lead.
Continuing their vicious assault, the Beermen wrapped up the game as early as the third at 93-57.
McKines, a PBA veteran with earlier stints here with Alaska Milk and Rain or Shine, marked his debut with San Miguel with 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes of action.
Lassiter also made 19 markers with 5-of7 triples while Fajardo, Espinas and Santos contributed 18, 16 and 12 points, respectively.
Mike Digregorio top scored for the losing team with 18 points.