SAN Miguel Beer and Blackwater are back in familiar spots - the Beermen in the semis and the Bossing in an extended slump.
The Beermen simply asserted themselves as the heavily favored top seeds against a hapless injury-hit side, pulling off an emphatic 123-93 win for a quick entry to the PBA Philippine Cup Final Four at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.
June Mar Fajardo and his teammates buckled down to work early and tore Blackwater to shreds right in the opening minutes on the way to claiming a semis berth against the winner of the Meralco-Ginebra quarters matchup.
The Bolts enjoy the 1-0 head start in the best-of-three series which they can wrap up in Game Two Friday over at the Filoil EcoOil Centre in San Juan.
It would be a longer wait for the Beermen if the Kings strike back and force a Game Three decider on Sunday.
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"At the start of the tourney, our target was the Top Two. Next, in the quarters, we don't want a second game because we want time to prepare for the semis," said San Miguel coach Leo Austria on the goals that they have achieved thus far in the all-Filipino tourney.
Being away for nearly two weeks observing the league's health protocols, Austria lauded the players and the members of his coaching staff for a job well done.
"The assistant coaches kept the players in shape and you saw them playing like a well-oiled machine," Austria pointed out.
Unleashing tremendous firepower, the twice-to-beat-armed Beermen took the fast lane to the Final Four in a warm welcome to the return of their head coach.
Eleven Beermen hit the scoring column with seven tossing in double-digit outputs led by Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez with 18 apiece and Jericho Cruz 17, with 12 in the first half.
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Lassiter opened the game with a booming trey and finished with six triples in all.
Fajardo had an 11-point, 10-rebound double-double while Moala Tautuaa narrowly missed his own double-double with 12 markers and nine boards.
The returning Chris Ross was 0-of-2 from the field but issued 12 assists in 19 minutes of action.
Austria didn't need to work that much in their quarters assignment as the Beermen blasted from the starting block, taking the first quarter at 32-13 and leading by as many as 30 right in the first half of the lopsided match.
The Beermen unleashed a massive salvo, hardly giving the Bossing a chance for an upset.
Instead, they suffered a sixth straight defeat that ended quickly the franchise's first playoff stint in a long while. (SB)
The Scores:
San Miguel 123 - Lassiter 18, Perez 18, Cruz 17, Tautuaa 12, Manuel 12, Enciso 11, Fajardo 11, Herndon 9, Brondial 6, Pessumal 5, Zamar 4, Ross 0, Canete 0, Faundo 0.
Blackwater 93 - Ular 15, Amer 13, Ebona 12, Sena 11, Ayonayon 11, Suerte 8, Go 8, Casio 5, McCarthy 5, Publico 5, Dyke 2, Escoto 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarters: 32-13, 63-39, 94-63, 123-93
