On a night when San Miguel was running at full throttle, its opponent with the never-say-die reputation never stood a chance.
Chris Ross and June Mar Fajardo scored 17 points each, and San Miguel rode a strong 1st quarter on both ends of the floor to destroy Barangay Ginebra 109-82 in Game 1 of the PBA Philippine Cup finals at Mall of Asia Arena on Friday.
San Miguel was all aggression from the get-go where it raced to a 35-12 lead. The defending champs wouldn't let up on their intensity the rest of the way.
Game 2 is at Quezon Convention Center in Lucena City on Sunday. Tip-off is at 6:30 p.m.
Ross finished with 5 rebounds and 8 assists, while Fajardo, fresh off recovering from flu, made 7 of 8 from the field besides bringing down 8 rebounds.
So dominant was San Miguel in Game 1 that even coach Leo Austria could not believe the outcome.
“I really don't know what happened dahil I'm not used to this kind of game na one-sided,” Austria said. “What I know from my players is talagang nanlilisik ang mga mata nila because they want to win.”
“They know the importance of the first game, because you dictate the pace of the series.”
The Beermen also got plenty of help from Alex Cabagnot and Gabby Espinas, who scored 16 points each.
What hurt the Gin Kings the most was their poor shooting from the perimeter where they made only 3 of 13 attempts.
After sensing that the win was in the bag, Austria decided to rest his starting 5.
“ ’Yung mga key players ipinahinga ko na. It's a very precious time for them kasi alam naman natin what happened in the semifinals. Those 5 players played an average of 45 minutes,” he said.
Chris Ellis ended up having 13 points, while Jervy Cruz and Mark Caguioa had 12 points each in Ginebra’s losing effort.
It was the most lopsided PBA finals game since the Beermen’s Game 6 defeat to Alaska, 99-61, in the 1998 All-Filipino Cup, according to PBA statistician Fidel Mangonon. Ironically, the Alaska team then was coached by current Ginebra mentor Tim Cone.
For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.
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