ANTIPOLO – Even with the minutes of Charles Rhodes clipped by early fouls, San Miguel Beer played with much firepower and clobbered Alaska Milk, 109-97, to firm up its bid for a Top Two finish in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here Saturday night.
Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and Arwind Santos carried much of the fight against the Alaska side crippled minus injury-hit key players Calvin Abueva and Jvee Casio in this Petron Blaze Saturday Special.
The Aces managed to keep the game close through the early goings of the third quarter before Cabagnot rifled in back-to-back treys to ignite a 15-to-nothing roll and open a 71-59 lead for the Beermen.
San Miguel sustained a steady ride to the finish and regained a piece of second place with idle Barangay Ginebra with their identical 7-2 win-loss marks.
“We want to take control of our destiny. We’re getting close to the playoffs and we need this win,” said Cabagnot who came through imports’ numbers with 25 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and three steals.
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The Kings and the Beermen will finish first and second should both sweep their last two games in the single-round-robin elims phase.
Ginebra has Meralco and Mahindra as last assignments while San Miguel closes out its elims stint versus Blackwater and GlobalPort.
Stopped by the Kings the last time out, the Beermen got back on track with a smooth win over the Aces.
With manageable challenge from the Aces, SMB coach Leo Austria enjoyed the luxury of playing June Mar Fajardo minimal minutes. Fajardo saw action for only 15:57 minutes off the bench and came up with five points and six rebounds.
Cabagnot, Lassiter and Ross stood out with sterling stats line as San Miguel sent Alaska to a shakier spot in handing the Aces a sixth consecutive loss.
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Alaska dropped to joint seventh place with GlobalPort at 4-6. The Aces have their last crack at an outright playoff entry against the Star Hotshots on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Cabagnot spiked his 25-point game with five three-pointers, Lassiter sparkled with 19 markers, five boards and four dish-offs while Ross shone with 18 points, 10 assists, three rebounds and three steals.
