PBA: Santos, Kramer aid Boone as Beermen wallop Bolts

The San Miguel Beermen returned to the PBA with a 94-76 win over the Meralco Bolts, Friday, in the 2014 Commissioner's Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Import Josh Boone led the team with 16 points and 16 rebounds. Arwind Santos also tallied 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Doug Kramer had 14 points and six rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter notched 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

Interim head coach Biboy Ravanes welcomed the franchise's name change, reverting from the Petron Blaze Boosters tag it had used for the past few years. Ravanes also acknowledged the lofty expectations that fans associate with the monicker:

"Alam niyo naman there's a lot of pressure on on us. Talagang sinasabi namin sa players namin, just play our game," he said. "Yung mga fans namin nabuhay kumbaga and there's a lot on our shoulders. But we should just play our game and stay focused."

Active consultant Todd Purves declined to confirm a possible import change as reported earlier this morning. "I'm going to leave personnel questions to our management, but I'm more than willing to answer questions about the players we have right now," he said. "Until I'm told by management there's an official change, I promise I'll comment on it immediately."

[Related: Import swap already in the making for San Mig Beermen - reports]

Ravanes said that Boone caught wind of the rumors but played all-out tonight, and commended his effort nonetheless. "Alam niya what was happening but still naglaro siya. We really appreciate that professionalism. Coach Todd mentioned it to him before the game, kaya saludo kami sa kanya," he said.

The Beermen struggled in the first quarter, but got fast break contributions from Arwind Santos and Chris Ross. Though Bolts import Brian Butch got going early, better team play from San Miguel resulted in a 20-20 tie at the end of the first.

The Bolts flatlined in the second, converting just three field goals in the quarter, while San Miguel's frontline had their way offensively. Doug Kramer and Santos combined for half of their quarter output, bringing the lead up to 40-29 at halftime.


San Miguel began to pull away midway through the third, as Santos and Marcio Lassiter began converting from deep, 56-39. Gary David was heating up for the Bolts, but was the only local who relieved Butch's scoring load. Meralco trimmed the lead once to 13 points, 58-45, as John Wilson split from the line at 3:44, but Santos took matters into his hands, spearheading an 11-7 swing to lead 69-52 after three quarters.

In the fourth quarter, the Beermen slowed the pace down and took the fight out of the Bolts. Chris Lutz converted a four-point play at 6:29, 80-60, to mark the biggest lead of the game. Lassiter  fouled out a minute later, but it did little to deter the final outcome.

San Miguel played without June Mar Fajardo, who was sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered in practice. "He's pretty much day-to-day right now. His ankle is swollen, but I'm going to leave that to the doctors. He'll be back very soon, but it's not serious as a whole," said Purves.

The Beermen made 40-of-88 (45.5 percent) of their field goals while holding Meralco to 26-of-75 (34.7 percent). San Miguel also dominated across the board, leading in rebounds (56-49), assists (27-8), fast break points (16-6) and second-chance points (26-18).

Import Brian Butch led all scorers with 29 points and 21 rebounds. Gary David added 20 points and five boards for the Bolts. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

SAN MIGUEL BEER 94 - Boone 16, Santos 16, Kramer 14, Lassiter 12, Mercado 8, Tubid 7, Duncil 6, Lutz 6, Hubalde 4, Ross 4, Maierhofer 1, Taha 0.

MERALCO 76 - Butch 29, David 20, Hugnatan 8, Hodge 7, Wilson 5, Al-Hussaini 4, Caram 2, Artadi 1, Ildefonso 0, Salvacion 0, Guevarra 0, Dillinger 0.

Quarters: 20-20, 40-29, 69-52, 94-76