Fajardo, Lassiter combine for 48 as Beermen finish off Ginebra

The San Miguel Beermen defeated the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel on Saturday, 100-94, to earn the first finals berth in the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup.

The Beermen finished the best of seven series in five games, giving them some downtime before gunning for their fourth consecutive Philippine Cup title.

June Mar Fajardo led SMB with 25 points, while Marcio Lassiter tallied 23. Matt Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in 14, as Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos scored 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Beermen found themselves down 34-25 after the opening period, before they found their rhythm to tie the game at 55-all at the half.

Coach Leo Austria’s squad then scored 28 points in the third, while limiting Ginebra to just 21, to take an 83-76 advantage heading into the final period.

The two teams were tied at 94-all before Alex Cabagnot strung back to back hits to put San Miguel ahead, 98-94.

The Gin Kings struggled down the stretch, failing to put points on the board, while Marcio Lassiter hit charities with 15 ticks to go to put the game away.

After the game, Ginebra coach Tim Cone took to Twitter to take blame for his team’s elimination:

“Angry at myself for not coaching better, but incredibly proud of the guys for playing with their hearts. They could have quit multiple times and didn’t. No excuses.”

Japeth Aguilar carried GInebra with 32 big points in the absence of Greg Slaughter, while Soc Mercado scored 14. Kevin Ferrer and Scottie Thompson had 10 points apiece, while Joe Devance and LA Tenorio were limited to nine and eight points, respectively.

The Beermen now await the winner of the semifinals series between the Magnolia Hotshots and the NLEX Road Warriors. — DVM, GMA News