Meralco ends San Miguel's dynasty, advances to semis

MANILA, November 16 ------ The Meralco Bolts have put an end to San Miguel's five-year reign as the PBA's All-Filipino champions. The Bolts overwhelmed San Miguel on both ends to come away with a 90-68 victory in their do-or-die quarterfinal game, Sunday at the AUF Gym in Angeles City, Pampanga.

In the process, Meralco ended San Miguel's remarkable streak of five consecutive All-Filipino championships. Seeded fifth in the quarterfinals, they had to overcome a twice-to-beat disadvantage to do so, and got the ball rolling with a 78-71 triumph last Friday to force a do-or-die game. With a spot in the semifinals of the 2020 PBA Philippine Cup on the line, the Bolts showcased their dominance on both ends of the floor, weathering a brief uprising by the fourth-seeded Beermen in the third quarter before blowing the game wide open. "Tonight, we focused on defense," said Meralco coach Norman Black, who stressed that they set out to stop SMB center Moala Tautuaa. "All the credit goes to the players." "Now, I'm gonna have to regroup them, because the job is not finished," he stressed. "Now, we have to put our sights on the finals."

Meralco set the tone of the game by outscoring San Miguel, 21-11, in the first quarter. They pulled ahead by 20 points in the second frame, but Marcio Lassiter and Tautuaa got going on offense which allowed the Beermen to trim the deficit to a more manageable 12 points, 43-31, at the half. Back-to-back triples by Lassiter to open the third quarter made it a six-point game, but it was the closest that SMB would get. Meralco unleashed a 26-6 run in the next eight minutes, giving them a 69-43 advantage. The Beermen never recovered, and they went on to trail by as much as 29 points, 80-52, off a daring drive by Meralco rookie Aaron Black early in the fourth quarter.

Meralco has now set up a best-of-five semifinal series against Barangay Ginebra. It will be a rematch of sorts, as the two squads contested the 2019 PBA Governors' Cup title last January with the Gin Kings winning the series in five games. This is also Meralco's first ever semifinals stint in the Philippine Cup. The conference has traditionally been the Bolts' waterloo, but they flourished in the league's bubble in Clark, Pampanga. As they have done all conference, the Bolts shared the wealth on offense. Cliff Hodge and Baser Amer each scored 14 points, while Reynel Hugnatan had 12 points and Allein Maliksi added 11. Meralco shot 46.7% from the field, including 38.5% from long distance. They also limited San Miguel to just 31.% shooting, and scored 21 points off the Beermen's 14 turnovers. Meralco's bench outscored their SMB counterparts, 32-5.

For San Miguel, meanwhile, it marked the end to one of the most dominant streaks in recent PBA history. The Beermen were the standard-bearers in the All-Filipino Conference for the past half-decade, but on Sunday they simply could not match Meralco on either end of the floor. They ran out of firepower, with their bench unit unable to provide a lift, and defensively they could not contain the multiple threats posed by the Bolts.

The Beermen will exit the PBA bubble after a tough campaign, wherein they were without reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo due to a leg fracture. They then proceeded to lose Terrence Romeo to a shoulder injury, but still managed to make it to the quarterfinals as a fourth seed. "It's been a journey," said Black of their own campaign in the Philippine Cup. "We got off to a slow start in the conference, but we were able to pick it up as my players got in better shape." "I'm just happy for my players, for the management, and for the company that we've made the semifinals," he added. Lassiter and Tautuaa each scored 20 points for the Beermen, while Arwind Santos finished with 10 points. Alex Cabagnot, who missed the previous game due to a hamstring issue, had six points, four rebounds, and four assists.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com/sports