PBA: Austria all praises for Beermen as SMB takes semis driver’s seat vs. Ginebra

Coach Leo Austria’s team continued to roll in the semifinals, letting their long bombs lift them to a 102-90 victory against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.

The Beermen did a lot of damage from beyond the arc, with Marcio Lassiter, Arwind Santos, and rookie Von Pessumal combining for 14 triples.

“The defense was sagging on June Mar and I’m happy with June Mar because he was able to dish out an assist or kung hindi man, nagfa-faciliate siya for an outside shooter,” said Austria.

“Especially si Von [Pessumal]. Breakout game niya to para sa amin and that’s the reason why he’s with us because we want to space the floor," he added.

Fajardo had a relatively quiet night, hitting just nine points with seven boards, three assists and  two blocks in 30 minutes on the floor.

Pessumal, on the other hand, hit 18 points in 19 minutes with four triples.

Arwind Santos led his team in scoring with 23 points, while Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot added 17 and 15 points, respectively.

Ginebra had Japeth Aguilar, Scottie Thompson, and Sol Mercado scoring 17 points each, but it was not enough to subdue the hot-shooting Beermen.

“Pagod lang siguro sila because this is their fourth game in eight days and mahirap talaga especially against our team na really determined to win our first game,” Austria said of Ginebra.

“And I have to give credit to those players because the last time we played before Ginebra, they were so focused until now.”

The Beermen now await the return of Greg Slaughter, who is expected to make a difference not just on offense, but in limiting June Mar Fajardo.

“Ang preparation naming is with or without Slaughter because alam naman natin na it’s only Greg who can stop June Mar at the post,” said Austria. —NB, GMA News