San Miguel Beer is just a win away from forging a title date with a very familiar foe.
The defending champions Beermen pulled away in the fourth quarter and dominated the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 103-94, in Game 5 of their 41st PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series at the Araneta Coliseum, last night.
The Beermen now own a 3-2 series lead, winning the last two games of the series to inch closer to sealing a championship rematch with the Alaska Aces.
San Miguel Beer’s June Mar Fajardo (15) fouls Beau Belga of Rain or Shine in a rebounding battle in Game 5 of their semifinal showdown of the 41st PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Araneta Coliseum. (INQUIRER PHOTO)
Alaska had taken the first finals berth after dispatching the GlobalPort Batang Pier in their own race-to-four series, 4-1.
San Miguel and Alaska figured in an epic best-of-seven title showdown in the same conference last year, an encounter that went the full route before the Beermen snagged the crown.
San Miguel faced and dominated Alaska when they crossed paths again in last year’s Governors’ Cup Finals.
The Beermen will try to close out the series when the two teams meet on Friday for Game 6.
“With this win, I think we didn’t achieve anything yet because we still need to win one,” said San Miguel coach coach Leo Austria.
Following up their 105-92 Game 4 win, San Miguel seized control of the game early in the fourth when Arwind Santos eight points in a 19-8 run that turned a slim 72-68 lead into a fat 89-74 edge.
The Elasto Painters put up a semblance of fight, firing a 9-2 rally to cut the deficit to single digit, 85-94, with 5:16 left.
San Miguel was quick to answer with Ronald Tubid hitting a three-pointer that touched off a 7-0 run as the Beermen posted a commaning 100-85 lead with only 2:43 left.
Cebuano June Mar Fajardo had another dominating performance as he led the Beermen with a game-high 27 points.
Alex Cabagnot added 14 points, while Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos each chipped in 12 markers.
Santos took the Best Player of the Game honors as he also had five rebounds and three blocked shots.
JR Quiñahan paced the Elasto Painters with 20 points.
Jericho Cruz returned to action after injuring his left knee in Game 3 and chipped in 13 markers for Rain or Shine, which continued to miss injured big man Raymond Almazan.
THE SCORES
SAN MIGUEL (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) – Quinahan 20, Chan 15, Cruz 13, Ponferada 13, Belga 9, Norwood 8, Lee 7, Ahanmisi 5, Tiu 4, Teng 0, Trollano 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 17-13, 50-45, 72-68, 103-94.