The Beermen on Wednesday broke away from Derby Ace in the third quarter to take Game 1 of their semifinal series in the PBA Fiesta Cup, not only gaining a headstart with the win but also gaining a huge psychological advantage in the process.
Jay Washington highlighted the Beermen’s utter dominance of the Llamados in that stretch when he outscored the entire Derby Ace crew that had San Miguel breaking free from a 44-all game at halftime.
San Miguel went on to lead by as many as 23 points in the period as Washington spiced up his 16-point effort in the quarter with at least three rim-rattling slams that totally disheartened the Llamados and the huge gallery that backed them up at the Araneta Coliseum.
“It was one of those nights that I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,” the 6-foot-7 forward, who finished with 28 points and 10 rebounds, told reporters afterwards.
Derby Ace scored just 13 points in the period and bowed out of the fight there as the San Miguel defense bottled up import Tony Washam for majority of the game, leaving James Yap to do most of the scoring.
“The key was defense,” San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen said. “But we must not be complacent after winning just one game.
“The only significance of this win is that we have a 1-0 lead, and that is very easy to overcome once we relax,” added the multi-titled mentor. “Derby Ace is a good team with a good heart.
“Parang Ginebra na din yan, they never give up.”
Gabriel Freeman backed up Washington with 23 points, 15 boards and the enigmatic intensity that keeps San Miguel going in every game.
Dondon Hontiveros and Arwind Santos chipped in with 15 markers each for Tanquingcen, who moved ahead in this rematch and got a headstart as he tries to avenge a 4-2 defeat in the Philippine Cup semifinals.
In the Philippine Cup, San Miguel also took a 2-1 lead but lost three of the next four games to the then Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, who would eventually go on to win the championship via a rare four-game sweep of Alaska.
Incidentally, Alaska also took the opener of its separate best-of-seven series with Talk 'N Text after Reynel Hugnatan scored all of his 16 points in the third period of a 104-88 win later in the night.
Hugnatan came off the bench and sparked the Alaska breakaway as the underdog Aces, who were also coming off a tiring quarterfinal series with Barangay Ginebra, drew first blood.
Diamon Simpson and Joe Devance had 19 points each to pace the Aces, who moved within three more victories of a second straight Finals appearance this season.
Ranidel de Ocampo had 20 points for the Tropang Texters, the elimination round topnotchers who got just six points from Ryan Reyes and three from Kelly Williams.
“As expected we’re not just a step late, we’re at least three to four steps late today,” Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio rued, citing fatigue as a factor after his Llamados had come out of a grueling five-game quarterfinal series with Rain or Shine.
“Sometimes, even if the mind is willing, the body is not,” he continued. “Emotions just took some of our energy after that gut-wrenching series victory over Rain or Shine in the quarter-finals.”
The final count suggests that San Miguel had it easy, but the Beermen labored hard in the first two periods.
“We’re expecting them to come back strong and make adjustments,” said Tanquingcen, dismissing Gregorio’s excuse of his squad being fatigued.
“I don’t think that at this point of the season, exhaustion comes in,” added Tanquingcen. “They have had more playoff games than us and they have stayed sharp while we had only two practice games during the break.”
Yap led all Derby Ace shooters with 24 points, while Washam had just 23 in his lowest-scoring game in the league.
Washam came into the game averaging close to 39 points a contest, but Tanquingcen threw a defensive rotation on the droopy-eyed Derby Ace import and made him bleed for his shots. Washam hit just 6-of-19 attempts from the field.
