By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel Beer completed a sweet 3-0 sweep and ousted defending champion Barangay Ginebra, 94-91, to book the first finals ticket in the 2023-’24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Sunday, Jan. 28.
Jericho Cruz came up huge off the bench to help the Beermen establish some sort of cushion down the stretch before SMB twin towers June Mar Fajardo and Bennie Boatwright deliver the big plays to seal the franchise’s 44th Finals appearance and first under the tutelage of head coach Jorge Gallent.
After Perez and Lassiter in the first two games, it was now Cruz’s turn to step up, finishing with 17 points while also providing the spark to the Beermen’s fourth quarter run that allowed them to seize a 90-79 advantage.
Ginebra, of course, channeling its “Never Say Die” mantra, tried to battle back from the double-digit deficit and cut it to just three, 92-89 with 39 seconds left.
Fajardo, however, slammed the door on the Kings’ familiar comeback, draining two pressure-packed free throws before Boatwright blocked the final shot of Ginebra import Tony Bishop on the other end to preserve the win in the frantic finish.
Boatwright led the way for SMB anew with 26 points spiked by six triples to go along with 13 rebounds and two blocks.
Lassiter contributed 14 points while Fajardo had 11 points and 10 boards. CJ Perez was the other double-digit scorer for the Beermen with 11 as well.
Over at the other series, Phoenix rose from the ashes of its heartbreaking defeats to live another day.
RJ Jazul presided over a huge second half explosion and climbed back from a 21-point deficit to pull the rug from under Magnolia, 103-85.
The Fuel Masters shrugged off a lethargic start in the first half before Jazul and import Johnathan Williams rallied their team to a furious 31-11 run to erase the huge deficit and establish a sizeable margin.
After being limited to just three points in the first two quarters, Williams sparked the massive uprising, pouring 11 in the third frame to finish with 19 points that also went 15 rebounds, two assists and two blocks.
Unlike in the first two games when Phoenix came up short with its comeback, Jazul made sure to put on the finishing touches, drilling timely triples – none bigger than the back-to-back hits that stretched the Fuel Masters lead to 14, 85-71, early in the final frame
Jazul actually unloaded 14 of his 17 points in the second half built on five triples to help Phoenix extend the series to Game 4 on Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the same venue.
