Beermen derail Express start
MANILA—San Miguel Beer again established itself as an early favorite for the crown, leaning on a virtually intact lineup to hammer Air21, 100-86, Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen went on a second half tear with gunner Dondon Hontiveros leading the way to a 1-0 slate.
“We’re still a work in progress but we’re doing fine,” said interim coach Gee Abanilla, who will call the shots for the Beermen untilhead coach Ato Agustin is done with his coaching chores with San Sebastian in the NCAA.
Agustin sat on the San Miguel bench after steering San Sebastian to the NCAA finals earlier in the day.
The Beermen shook off a lackadaisical start and led only by seven, 49-42, at intermission before breaking loose in the latter part of game—posting a commanding 19-point advantage twice with the last one in the final minute, 100-81, courtesy of a basket fromArwind Santos.
Hontiveros keyed that strong second half showing by raining jumpers on the Express.
“We looked at their team and we knew they had a lot of rookies so we used our experience a bit in the second half,” Hontiveros said. “We knew how to bait them to fouls and we got to the line and our big men really performed well.”
The Beermen did earn several trips to the stripe but struggled to make shots there, hitting just 28 of 52 free throws. Still, Abanilla was happy with what he saw.
“We played good defense even if we missed a lot of free throws,” Abanilla said.
Hontiveros scored 24 points to pace the Beermen even as Al-Hussaini managed 16 points and had 11 rebounds in his first professional game that still proved short for the Express to turn things around.
Top overall pick Noy Baclao missed the match due to a bruised knee he suffered during a practice game.
Wingman Wesley Gonzales tallied a team-high 19 points for Air21.
Santos and Jay Washington completed double-doubles for the Beermen with 19 points and 10 rebounds and 14 and 13, respectively. Photo by Nuki Sabio, PBA
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL BEER 100—Hontiveros 24, Santos 19, Washington 14, Cabagnot 9, Seigle 8, Yeo 6, Pennisi 8, Ildefonso 4, Pena 4, Miranda 2, Racela 2, Artadi 1, Tugade 1.
AIR21 86—Gonzales 19, Al-Hussaini 16, arboleda 13, Quinahan 10, Matias 6, Sharma 6, Rodriguez 5, Najorda 4, Urbiztondo 3, Arellano 3, Buenafe 1, Guevarra 1.
Quarters: 22-18, 49-42, 65-56, 100-86
SAN MIGUEL BEER 100—Hontiveros 24, Santos 19, Washington 14, Cabagnot 9, Seigle 8, Yeo 6, Pennisi 8, Ildefonso 4, Pena 4, Miranda 2, Racela 2, Artadi 1, Tugade 1.
AIR21 86—Gonzales 19, Al-Hussaini 16, arboleda 13, Quinahan 10, Matias 6, Sharma 6, Rodriguez 5, Najorda 4, Urbiztondo 3, Arellano 3, Buenafe 1, Guevarra 1.
Quarters: 22-18, 49-42, 65-56, 100-86
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