INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel broke away early and then rode out a spirited Burger King rally to secure a 100-88 victory Sunday night that gave the Beermen a 2-1 lead in their Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum.

Gabriel Freeman scored 35 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to pace San Miguel, which bounced back from a tight Game 2 loss with aplomb to take control of what has turned out to be a very physical best-of-seven series.

San Miguel’s Wesley Gonzales suffered a busted forehead and there were several on-court altercations as the referees almost lost control of the game because of seemingly inconsistent calls.

“It’s normal, because the stakes have gotten higher,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen of the rugged encounter. “This is the playoffs and everybody is playing harder. As long as the physicality is within the bounds of the game, it’s OK.”

The Beermen held the Whoppers to 14 points in the second quarter and bloated a nine-point first-quarter lead to as many as 22 late in the period which proved more than enough buffer to cushion a last-ditch Burger King rally.

“Playoff basketball evolves around defense,” Tanquingcen said. “And that’s what we lost track of in the second game.”

Meanwhile, coming this far using the sheer exuberance of its youth, Rain or Shine showed in the second game it now has the heart to play at this level.

“Despite (our young average age), it just shows that we have adjusted and we have the heart to play at this level,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia said with pride moments after a 94-88 win gave his underrated Elasto Painters a 2-1 lead in their own semifinal series with the Gin Kings.

The Painters came up with a telling run to close out the second period and held on to the lead from there, defusing a dizzying comeback by the defending champion Gin Kings to silence a pro-Ginebra crowd.
The Painters moved within two wins of a first Finals stint.

“We won’t stop there, we want to achieve more,” Garcia added after getting double-doubles from rookie Gabe Norwood and import Jai Lewis. “No matter what happens, we’re still the underdogs. The important thing for us is to not be pressured.”

Norwood scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds, and Lewis had 16 markers, 16 boards and six assists against the Kings who turned the ball over 20 times to go down in flames.

Jayjay Helterbrand paced the Kings with 17 and was scoreless in the fourth period for the second straight game. David Noel added 16 like Cyrus Baguio, whose ejection with 11:10 left proved a crucial point for Ginebra.

Jonas Villanueva scored 13 of his 15 in the breakaway first half, and even though the Beermen got only one other player to chip in with a double digit output, the early damage they inflicted on Burger King was simply too much to overcome.

The scores:
First Game
SAN MIGUEL 100—Freeman 35, Villanueva 15, Racela 12, Washington 8, Pennisi 7, Custodio 6, Hontiveros 6, Gonzales 4, Ildefonso 4, Calaguio 2, Pena 1, Cortez 0.

BURGER KING 88—Santos 22, Quiñahan 11, Billones 10, Aban 8, Daniels 8, Yee 7, Belga 7, Arboleda 7, Cruz 4, Sharma 4, David 0.
Quarters: 30-21, 55-35, 74-63, 100-88

Second Game
RAIN OR SHINE 94—Norwood 17, Lewis 16, Laure 16, Tang 15, Wainwright 9, Arana 8, Reyes 6, Isip 4, Dulay 3, Ejercito 0.

GINEBRA 88—Helterbrand 17, Baguio 16, Noel 16, Salvacion 13, Intal 12, Wilson 6, Tubid 4, Artadi 2, Mamaril 2, Lanete 0, Kramer 0, Reavis 0.
Quarters: 21-18, 49-38, 76-66, 94-88