Arwind Santos of San Miguel (dark) vs Brian Butch and John Wilson of Meralco (light). Nuki Sabio/PBA
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel got off to a dominating start in the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup by routing Meralco, 94-76, Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen, who reverted back to their original name in honor of the 1989 grand slam team, blew the game wide open with a 20-9 second quarter burst.
“We needed this win to build confidence. There’s a lot of pressure from Petron to San Miguel. There’s a lot of load on their shoulders. I just reminded them to stay focused,” said head coach Biboy Ravanes.
The Beermen, though, worked like a well-oiled machine and churned out 27 assists compared to the Bolts’ eight and had a 56-49 edge in boards.
San Miguel led by as many as 20 points and never let Meralco come closer to single digits after its 44-35 lead early in the third period.
“We’re looking for guys who are physically (and) mentally tough and unselfish. It’s more fun to play when people are unselfish. So we’re trying to build that.’’
Import Josh Boone and Arwind Santos each scored 16, Doug Kramer and Marcio Lassiter added 14 and 12, respectively, as San Miguel missed the services of June Mar Fajardo who had sprained ankle.
Brian Butch had a monster game for Meralco with 29 points and 21 rebounds, three assists and two blocks, Gary David added 20 but got no solid backup from the rest of the squad.
The Bolts also missed 18 of their 39 free throw attempts.