JUNE Mar Fajardo (right) is whistled for a foul after going over the back of Rain or Shine’s Beau Belga during last night’s Game 5 semifinal duel between the two squads. AUGUST DELA CRUZ
WITH another big fourth quarter, San Miguel Beer on Wednesday night brushed Rain or Shine’s challenge aside and moved within another victory of returning to the Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup Finals after a 103-94 Game 5 win over the outclassed Elasto Painters at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen, much in the same way they pounded the Elasto Painters in a 105-92 Game 4 win, also gave June Mar Fajardo all the support he needed and won convincingly for the second straight time for a 3-2 lead in their race-to-four Final Four affair.
San Miguel can wrap this series up Friday and seal a return clash with Alaska for the most prestigious championship of the year.
The Aces booked the first title series slot on Tuesday after running roughshod over GlobalPort, 118-89, and taking a 4-1 win in their half of the Final Four.
Should the Beermen win, the best-of-seven Finals will start on Sunday. If Rain or Shine extends the series to a deciding Game 7—which the Painters have said is their goal—the championship will not start until Tuesday next week.
So efficient was the San Miguel offense that Fajardo did not need to work as hard as he did in the first four games, shooting 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds—both series lows—which still didn’t take the sting out of the Beermen’s overall performance.
Fajardo, who will win another Best Player of the Conference award hands-down should the Beermen advance to the Finals, came into the contest averaging 38 points and 18 rebounds.
“We’ve achieved nothing yet, we still need to win another game,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria told reporters after moving on the cusp of a third title series appearance in the last four conferences and gaining a shot at remaining perfect in the Finals.
It was tight for the first three periods before the Beermen peeled away from a 72-68 game at the start of the fourth to take a 92-76 lead and take the fight out of the Painters.
Santos, also a former MVP like Fajardo, shot eight of his total in the fourth frame.
Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Santos all wound up tossing in twin digits for the Beermen in the lowest-scoring game of the series.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 103—Fajardo 27, Cabagnot 14, Lassiter 12, Santos 12, Espinas 9, Ross 9, Tubid 9, Arana 8, Lutz 3, Reyes 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 94—Quiñahan 20, Chan 15, Cruz 13, Ponferrada 13, Belga 9, Norwood 8, Lee 7, Ahanmisi 5, Tiu 4, Teng 0, Trollano 0.
Quarters: 17-13, 50-45, 72-68, 103-94