By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE San Miguel Beermen went 2-1 up in their best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup finals series with the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings after blowing past their opponents, 132-94, in Game Three on Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Using a strong third quarter, the defending champions Beermen turned a close game in the first half into a rout thereafter to move a step closer to repeating as champs in the midseason PBA tournament.
The contest got to a gunslinging start with the two teams engaging in a tight one-upmanship.
Barangay Ginebra held a 14-12 lead with six minutes remaining in the quarter before it went on a 7-2 run in the next minute and a half to stretch their lead to seven points, 21-14.
San Miguel though did not stay down for long, racking up seven quick points to tie the count at 21-all with three minutes left.
The Beermen completed the turnaround, going on a 9-6 run the rest of the way to claim a 30-27 advantage by the end of the quarter.
The Kings would start the second canto hot with veteran Mark Caguioa and Kevin Ferrer providing the spark off the bench.
They were able to level the score at 37-all at the seven-minute mark after which both teams kept each other within close range of one another.
At the end of the first half, San Miguel maintained the upper hand, 53-51.
The Beermen would open the third period scorching, outscoring the Kings, 9-0, led by Renaldo Balkman, June Mar Fajardo and Alex Cabagnot, in the first two and a half minutes to hold a 62-51 lead.
But import Justin Brownlee would pull Barangay Ginebra to within four points, 64-60, with 7:52 to go.
Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter stopped the bleeding for San Miguel with a string of triples to give themselves more breathing room, 78-64, at the five-minute mark.
The Kings made attempts to come back anew but the Beermen would not allow them and instead pushed on the gas pedal further to stretch their lead to 20 points, 92-72, at the end of the third period.
San Miguel picked up where it left off to start the final frame, racking up seven straight points to build its lead to 27 points, 99-72, with 10:18 left.
From there the Beermen stayed on cruise control before sending the win to the dock.
Mr. Balkman led San Miguel with 28 points and 11 rebounds.
Mr. Ross had 23 points, going 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, while Mr. Fajardo had 22 markers.
Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile, was led by Mr. Brownlee with 32 points while Mr. Caguioa finished with 12.
“I did not expect this outcome as we were expecting a close fight. But I have to give credit to my players because they really showed they wanted to win,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria after their Game Three victory.
“But this is just one win. There is still a long way to go. We are up in the series and this big win is a morale boost for us. We have to continue working though,” he added.
Game Four of the series is on Friday.

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