San Miguel rains 3s on Ginebra to go up 3-1 in semis series

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After a morale-boosting win in Game 3, Barangay Ginebra was ready to again live up to its reputation as a resilient team hoping to tie its best-of-7 semifinals series.

That came to a screeching halt when San Miguel Beer played true to its battle-tested, championship form.

Marcio Lassiter scored 23 points and San Miguel's offense seemed stuck on automatic, as the defending PBA Philippine Cup champions routed Barangay Ginebra 102-81 to win Game 4 of their series at Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday.

San Miguel, now up 3-1, will look to close out Ginebra at Cuneta Astrodome on Saturday and advance to the finals.





" 'Yung mga players focused," San Miguel coach Leo Austria said.

"They were embarrassed in our last game. If you noticed 'yung last game namin, we were so relaxed.

"It's human nature. When you're tied and you're up 2-0, the tendency is to relax. If you're a winner, you should be comfortable in non comfortable situations."

It didn't take long for San Miguel to put Ginebra in its place on Thursday, stringing together a 19-5 run to go up 32-22 at the end of the first quarter before coasting.

The Beermen were at their most devastating form on offense this tournament, with 6 of their players scoring in double digits and overall making 51% of their shots (41-of-81 field goals).

They also made 12 of 25 from behind the arc (48%), a number that essentially did Ginebra in.

Alex Cabagnot added 19 points, 8 assists and 3 3-pointers, while Arwind Santos contributed 16 points and 9 rebounds.

June Mar Fajardo (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser (12 points, 10 assists) each finished with a double-double.

"One thing na masasabi ko sa game na ito," Austria said, "energy ang big factor."

Japeth Aguilar finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds for Ginebra, which couldn't stop San Miguel's shooters and couldn't convert from the perimeter itself.

Overall, Ginebra made only 19% of its 3-pointers (4 of 21).

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