BEST Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo (right) of San Miguel Beer fails to stop Calvin Abueva of Alaska from scoring in Wednesday’s Game 4 of the title series at Smart Araneta Coliseum. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
The San Miguel Beermen will be coming off their best game in their PBA Philippine Cup title showdown with the Alaska Aces as the two squads again break their deadlock today at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Game 5 of the best-of-seven series is at 7 p.m. with the Beermen enjoying the momentum after literally blowing the Aces off the court on Wednesday to forge a second tie at 2-all and reduce the championship duel to a best-of-three.
After blowing huge leads in losing Games 1 and 3, San Miguel coach Leo Austria said he’s hoping his Beermen will finally take the crucial edge this time.
“This (is like) Game 1, and this is very important,” Austria said. “I hope (because of the way we won Game 4) that we have solved their press (defense) already.”
Austria has all the reasons to believe that they have solved Alaska’s pressure defense. The Beermen had six players scoring in twin digits and never allowed the Aces back in the game on Wednesday night after leading by as large as 29 early in the third period.
The Aces were befuddled when San Miguel got practically its entire star-studded core contributing to ease its over-reliance on cornerstone June Mar Fajardo for the first time in the series.
Fajardo, the reigning MVP who won the Best Player of the Conference award just hours before Game 4, took just five attempts from the field and played his fewest minutes—just 27.
Not only was the San Miguel offensive machine humming, but the Beermen’s defense gave Alaska a dose of its own medicine.
“Today, we showed the people that we can also play defense,” said Austria proudly.
Alaska coach Alex Compton admitted that he and his Aces were waylaid in the fourth game.
“We got beat. Triple exclamation point on that one,” Compton said.
But Compton didn’t sound to be deflated at all. After seeing San Miguel go full throttle, he is expected to make adjustments today.
“I have motivated players in this team. Fundamentally, having motivated people is tantamount to success,” Compton said. “We’ve reached this far because we have motivated guys who have put on Alaska jerseys.”
Only Calvin Abueva was up to par for Alaska on Wednesday, posting 22 points and seven rebounds. No other Alaska player scored more than nine, with starting point guard JV Casio held scoreless for the first time in his career.
Alex Cabagnot will be coming off his best offensive game in the series. He shot 22 without an assist as Austria used him at the No. 2 spot.