San Miguel Beer's Marcio Lassiter (C) makes a move to slip past Meralco's Sean Anthony and Japanese import Seiya Ando (R) in Monday night's PBA Governors' Cup quarterfinals knockout match at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette
MANILA — After falling short last time out, the San Miguel Beermen showed the form that made them the second seed, dispatching the upstart Meralco Bolts, 102-86, Monday night to book the final spot in the PBA Governors' Cup semifinal round.
Using their twice-to-beat advantage, the Beermen thus knocked out the seventh-seeded Bolts who dealt the Beermen a 106-99 defeat Saturday night. SMB will go up against Rain or Shine in a best-of-five semifinals beginning on Thursday, July 2.
Import Arizona Reid once again played a yeoman's job for SMB, finishing with 29 points, 11 rebounds and six assists. Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo also stood out with 22 points and 16 boards for the Beermen.
Marcio Lassiter banged in 17 markers, including three triples in the decisive fourth quarter when the Beermen started pulling away. Arwind Santos added 15, all scored in the first half. Santos started hot, drilling three treys in the first quarter to give SMB a 30-18 lead.
Led by Gary David, the Bolts unleashed a 16-6 run to start the second quarter, trimming the deficit to just two points. Halftime came with SMB ahead by seven, 49-42.
The Bolts continued clawing at the Beermen's lead in the third quarter, with import Andre Emmett and Reynel Hugnatan leading the fightback. They managed to cut SMB's lead again to two, 67-65, at the end of the third quarter.
The Beermen though were in no mood for another close fourth quarter thriller as they finally unleashed their full might, opening the final period with a 12-4 run. Lassiter drilled back-to-back three-pointers as the Beermen began turning the game into a mismatch.
Two more runs — an 8-1 blast followed by a 7-0 bomb — and the Beermen saw themselves cruising to victory with an 18-point lead with 1:06 left. SMB outscored Meralco, 35-21, in the fourth quarter.
The Beermen shot a sizzling 53.6 percent from the field, making 37 of 69 attempts. They also controlled the paint, scoring 50 points on easy baskets inside.
In contrast, the Bolts had a tougher time, making 33 of 75 attempts for a 44 percent shooting clip. They scored only 32 points in the paint. Emmett led Meralco with 28 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Hugnatan posted 17 markers and six boards while David came off the bench to add 16 points.
Game Wednesday: Alaska Aces vs. Star Hotshots (Game 1 of best-of-5 semifinals).
