San Miguel downs Rain or Shine, inches closer to PBA finals return
June Mar Fajardo vs Jewel Ponferrada. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
June Mar Fajardo didn’t have to carry much of the offensive load for the second straight game and San Miguel Beer had the same result on Wednesday night.
Drawing another collective effort, the Beermen beat the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-94, in Game 5 of their semifinals series to move one win away from returning to the finals in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup.
Eight players had at least eight points for San Miguel Beer led by Fajardo, who had series lows of 27 points and 12 rebounds.
“With this win, I think we didn’t achieve anything yet because we still need to win one,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria.
“We’ve identified the areas when we need to attack and a lot of the players are now familiar with our game plan unlike in the first few games where they were playing a lot of one-on-ones,” Austria said of the change in his team’s game the past couple of games.
Arwind Santos had 12 points, five rebounds and three blocks while Alex Cabagnot scored 14 on 5-of-7 shooting from the field including 2-of-3 from downtown for the Beermen, who will shoot for the last finals berth in Game 6 on Friday night.
Top seed Alaska is already in the finals after disposing of GlobalPort on Tuesday night.
JR Quiñahan paced the Painters with 20 points. Jericho Cruz returned after missing one game due to a knee injury and had 13 points.
But not even his return could push Rain or Shine through. The Painters kept it close for three quarters before the Beermen pulled away thanks to their timely shooting.
