Marcio Lassiter played brilliantly again. PBA Media Bureau |
By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY--As former star Mon Fernandez sat at courtside, San Miguel put on a show for him.
The Beermen blitzed past Barangay Ginebra, 102-81, in Game 4 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena on Thursday night.
SMB pulled away for good from Ginebra late in the first quarter as the team took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
The Barangay actually pulled off a scare early in the fourth quarter, cutting what was once a 29-point lead down to just 18, but the Beermen still held on.
Marcio Lassiter tallied 23 points on five triples, four rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block for SMB, who can knock out Ginebra in Game 5 on Saturday night at the Cuneta Astrodome here.
Chris Ross, who was questionable prior to the game due to a right thigh strain he got in Game 3, played through the pain and contributed 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.
Japeth Aguilar tallied 31 markers, 13 rebounds, and four steals for the Barangay, which now needs to sweep the remaining three games to steal the playoff series from their sister team.
Box Scores:
San Miguel 102-Lassiter 23, Cabagnot 19, Santos 16, Fajardo 14, Rosser 12, Ross 11, Espinas 4, Pessumal 3, Heruela 0, De Ocampo 0, Lanete 0, Mamaril 0, Agovida 0, Vigil 0
Ginebra 81-J. Aguilar 31, Tenorio 20, Cruz 9, Mercado 5, Ferrer 3, Caperal 3, Caguioa 3, Devance 2, Mariano 2, Manuel 2, Thompson 1, R. Aguilar 0
Quarterscores: 32-22, 58-41, 84-58, 102-81
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