San Miguel's Jun Mar Fajardo prepares to make his move against Talk N Text's Ranidel de Ocampo in Game 4 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena Friday night. Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The San Miguel Beermen completed their dismantling of the Talk N Text Tropang Texters with a 100-87 victory in Game 4 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena. San Miguel thus swept the series 4-0 to advance to the finals since the 2013 Governors Cup. The Beermen will now be gunning for their first all-Filipino conference title since they last won the championship way back in 2001. SMB now awaits the winner of the Alaska-Rain or Shine semifinal series which is currently tied at 2-all. The 4-0 sweep was a first for the SMB franchise in 40 years and only the seventh in league history. It was also the first time that TNT suffered a 4-0 shutout in franchise history. Once again the big difference for San Miguel was Jun Mar Fajardo, its unstoppable 6'10” giant who played a monster game yet again, finishing with a team-high 28 points on top of 16 rebounds five assists and two blocks. Fajardo's brilliance was complemented by the equally fiery performances of nearly the entire SMB bench. Alex Cabagnot banged in 16 points off the bench, while Chris Lutz scored 15. Arwind Santos notched yet another double-double, finishing with 13 points and 10 boards. Ronald Tubid also shone off the bench with 11 markers. The Beermen shot the lights out of the Arena, shooting a torrid 58 percent. SMB was in full command of the contest from the start and was never seriously threatened. The Texters made their last ditch stand in the final quarter beginning with a 12-5 run to cut San Miguel's lead by nine, 75-66. But Santos and Cabagnot quickly racked up five straight points while Fajardo banged in back-to-back jumpers as the Beermen stretched their lead to 16 points, 88-72, with 4:08 left. The Texters refused to throw in the towel as Jimmy Alapag, Danny Siegle, and Jayson Castro unleashed a barrage of baskets to cut SMB's to 92-84 with 68 ticks remaining. But that was the closest the Texters could come as the Beermen once again surged ahead to clinch the series. Alapag led TNT with 17 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two assists. Ranidel De Ocampo made only 4-of-14 shots from the field, finishing with 13 points. Larry Fonacier and Siegle added 12 points apiece while Matt Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in 11 markers. Game Saturday: Alaska Aces vs. Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (Game 5 of best-of-seven semifinals; series tied 2-2).
