San Miguel crushes Ginebra to draw first blood in PBA Finals

Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net

Showing why it is the two-time defending champion, San Miguel stepped on the gas pedal early and destroyed Ginebra, 105-74, to draw first blood in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Finals Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

Chris Ross orchestrated the early attack for the Beermen and finished the game with 17 points, eight assists, and five rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo was just a rock down low, tallying 17 markers, eight boards, three blocks, and two assists.

San Miguel jumped on a 17-2 lead with its starters firing on all cylinders, shooting 12-of-18 from the field against Ginebra’s paltry 4-of-21 shooting.

The Beermen extended the lead in the first half to as much as 27, 54-27, on a Ross layup with 5:30 remaining in the second period, and to as high as 36, 85-49, on a Gabby Espinas and-1 with 3:52 left in the third.

Alex Cabagnot also added 16 points on a 3-of-4 clip from three, alongside six dimes and five rebounds, while Espinas made the most of his minutes off the bench and fired 16 markers and four boards.

“I really don’t know what happened because I did not expect this kind of game. It was one-sided since the first quarter,” said coach Leo Austria, who lauded his players’ desire to grab an early series lead. “You can see it in their eyes because they know how important winning Game 1 is.”

Chris Ellis paced Ginebra with 13 points and three rebounds off the bench, while Jervy Cruz and Mark Caguioa both had 12 in the defeat.

Game 2 is on Sunday at Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL 109 – Ross 17, Fajardo 17, Cabagnot 16, Espinas 16, Tubid 11, Santos 9, Lassiter 8, Agovida 7, Heruela 4, Reyes 2, De Ocampo 2, Van Opstal 0, Mabulac 0, McCarthy 0.

GINEBRA 82 – Ellis 13, Cruz 12, Caguioa 12, Thompson 10, Taha 9, Tenorio 5, Aguilar 5, Mariano 4, Jamito 4, Devance 3, Mercado 2, Ferrer 2, Marcelo 1, Helterbrand 0, De Guzman 0.

Quarters: 35-12, 60-39, 89-56, 109-82.