MANILA — Long-range gunner Marcio Lassiter exploded for 25 points, 20 of them in the first half, as the defending champions San Miguel Beermen routed the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 101-72, in Game Four of their PBA Governors' Cup semifinals series Sunday night. The win tied the best-of-5 series at 2-2, thus forcing a deciding Game Five Tuesday. Lassiter nailed 7 of 9 three-point shots as he presided over a searing SMB offense in the second quarter where he scored 13 points, including an 11-0 blast where he scored all the points. His shooting spree broke the game wide open, turning a 30-22 lead into a 41-22 advantage for the Beermen. SMB shackled Ginebra in that same quarter, with the Kings missing 15 straight shots. The Kings bled for only seven points in that forgettable period as SMB enjoyed a 55-29 advantage at halftime. The Beermen dominated both ends of the court, with behemoth June Mar Fajardo finishing with 17 markers and 16 boards. Alex Cabagnot, import Elijah Millsap and Arwind Santos added 13 points apiece. SMB outrebounded Ginebra, 36-18, and converted 46 percent of their shots as against Ginebra's terrible 27-percent clip, including just 2-of-21 shooting from beyond the three-point arc. San Miguel led by as many as 32 points and never looked back. The Smart-Araneta Coliseum was filled to the rafters with more than 22,000 fans, many of them Ginebra die-hards who were expecting their team to wrap up the series. However, they were stunned into silence by the merciless SMB rampage. Import Justin Brownlee led Ginebra with 28 points while LA Tenorio added 17 markers. No other Kings scored in double digits, with Game 3 heroes Japeth Aguilar finishing with just one point and Scottie Thompson with no points at all. Game Monday: Meralco Bolts vs. TNT KaTropa (Game 4; best-of-5 semifinals; Meralco leads 2-1).
