San Miguel Beer's Marcio Lassiter gets past Alaska's Cyrus Baguio on his way to the basket in Friday night's PBA Philippine Cup Finals Game 5 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. JAY R. GOTERA Saudi Gazette
MANILA —San Miguel Beer is now a win away from grabbing its first championship after three seasons after the Beermen gutted out a 93-88 victory over the Alaska Aces in Game 5 of their PBA Philippine Cup Finals Friday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. SMB now leads the best-of-7 series, 3-2, with Game 6 set for Sunday, Jan. 18. The Beermen's one-two punch of June Mar Fajardo and Arwind Santos dominated both ends of the court, frustrating the Aces with their smothering defense and firepower. Both scored 19 points apiece with reigning MVP and Best Player of the Conference Fajardo adding 13 rebounds and five blocks. Former MVP Santos added nine rebounds and five blocks as well. Marcio Lassiter formed the third leg of the winning SMB triumvirate, firing 16 points, including three triples. Reserve forwards Doug Kramer and David Semerad added nine points each off the bench. Unlike their previous losses, the Beermen held their ground in the fourth quarter despite the Aces' vaunted full-court pressure defense. Showing off their own defensive strength, the Beermen held the Aces scoreless for about five minutes in the fourth quarter as they took a seven-point lead, 86-79, heading into the homestretch. The Aces made their last-ditch stand in the final as Calvin Abueva drilled two free throws to cut SMB's lead to five. Abueva scored once again on a difficult drive to cut the Beermen's lead further to three, 89-86, with 25.3 seconds left. With time running out, Alaska was forced to foul but Santos coolly sank two charities to restore SMB's lead to five, 91-86, with 18 seconds left, sealing his team's second straight victory in the series. Abueva led Alaska with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Cyrus Baguio had a good offensive night, scoring 19 points, while Vic Manuel chipped in with 13 markers. Sonny Thoss added 11, while Dondon Hontiveros and RJ Jazul contributed nine points apiece. Alaska coach Alex Compton made a startling change in his starting lineup, inserting Ping Exciminiano and Eric Menk to start the game. The change backfired on Alaska as San Miguel sprinted to a 13-5 lead. The momentum shifted to Alaska, however, when Abueva entered the court. The athletic yet undersized Alaska power forward quickly banged in five points while Dondon Hontiveros and RJ Jazul knocked in a pair of three-pointers for an 18-8 blast. A major concern for Alaska was JVee Casio's continued scoring slump. Like in Game 4, Alaska's starting point guard failed to score Friday after eight tries at the basket. Casio would need to regain his shooting touch Sunday if the Aces hope to extend the series into an all-or-nothing Game 7.
