Dominant Beermen take 1-0 Finals lead

SAN MIGUEL import Arizona Reid (right) forces Alaska counterpart Romeo Travis to muff an assist to teammate Sonny Thoss in last night’s still-unfinished Game 1 of the title series at Mall of Asia Arena. EDWIN BACASMAS

So much for the PBA Governors’ Cup title series being close—at least in Game 1.

San Miguel Beer broke away early and never took its foot off the gas pedal last night, spilling Alaska so bad in the series opener, 108-78, that it looked like the Beermen were in an entirely different world at Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.

The Beermen zoomed to an early 19-point lead and utterly dominated the Aces the rest of the way to grab both the early Finals  lead and the mental edge in what many expect to be a tightly-fought affair.

“I also don’t know, I was actually expecting a very tough game,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria told reporters who asked him about the lopsided win.

Arizona Reid scored 32 points, had seven assists and six rebounds as he spearheaded the searing San Miguel attack.

San Miguel closed out the first quarter enjoying a 35-22 lead and took that 13-point cushion to the halftime break before blowing the Aces off the floor early in the fourth.

June Mar Fajardo scored 18 points and plucked down 17 boards for the Beermen. Alex Cabagnot and Chris Lutz, meanwhile, jump-started the San Miguel offensive armada with a combined 19 points in the first period that set the complex of the contest.

Alaska seemed to fire bricks all night, shooting just 35 percent from the floor. Romeo Travis managed just two points in the first two periods to finish with 14—and that was enough to lead the Aces in scoring.

The usual heavy hitters were effectively shut down by the San Miguel defense, with JV Casio and Cyrus Baguio finishing with just five and four, respectively.

Game 2 is set tomorrow afternoon at Smart Araneta Coliseum, and Alaska’s Alex Compton knows that he has a truly tall task ahead of him  to keep his team from  falling into a 0-2 hole.

“There’s not much of a story here, but I got outcoached and we got beat from start to finish,” Compton said. “I still believe we can beat them. If I didn’t I’d probably try to get tossed [out] in the first quarter [of Game 2].

“Whatever we did tonight, that’s not going to work, that’s for sure,” he said. “We better do something different.”

Meanwhile, Fajardo is expected to run away with a second Best Player of the Conference award this season when the PBA honors its best and brightest individual performers for the Governors’ Cup.

The 6-foot-10 Fajardo averaged 36.2 statistical points (SPs) after the semifinals. That is more than three SPs ahead of Globalport gunslinger Terrence Romeo’s 32.9.

The race is tighter in the Best Import derby with Reid and  Travis  contesting the award named after the late Bobby Parks.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL BEER 108—Reid 32, Fajardo 18, Cabagnot 15, Santos 15, Lutz 12, Lassiter 9, Ross 2, Fortuna 2, Semerad 2, Tubid 1, Reyes 0, Espinas 0.

ALASKA 78—Travis 14, Thoss 12, Abueva 11, Hontiveros 11, Manuel 8, Casio 5, Banchero 4, Baguio 4, Menk 3, Dela Rosa 2, Exciminiano 2, Jazul 2.

Quarters: 35-22, 54-41, 77-65, 108-78