MANILA, Philippines – What a game! San Miguel Beermen almost wasted a 20-point lead but still survived Magnolia's 4th-quarter storm to take Game 1 of the best-of-seven series of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Friday, February 2, 2024, at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Being in the league for a while and battling numerous games, San Miguel and Magnolia didn’t need ample time to gauge each other. As soon as the ball went up for the opening toss, players from both squads took off and traded baskets one after another.
The Beermen went through multiple fastbreak plays, leaving Coach Chito Victolero no choice but to call a ceasefire. After the timeout, the Hotshots matched SMB’s intensity, caught up in no time, and even snatched the lead.
As expected, the imports from both teams engaged in a duel. But it was ex-Dallas Maverick, Tyler Bey who had the edge in the first period with 10 points, and Magnolia took the opener, 24-20.
SMB’s prolific sorcerer, Bennie Boatwright Jr., who was averaging 40.33 points before the playoffs, struggled to fill up his stats sheet, especially from the three-point lane up until the dawn of the 2nd quarter. Despite his subpar performance, San Miguel was back at the helm.
Not only Boatwright Jr. was having an off night, but 7-time MVP June Mar Fajardo couldn’t find his jive too in the first half. Good thing that locals Terrence Romeo and Don Trollana shouldered the offensive duties to maintain their advantage.
Coach Jorge Gallent adjusted his defensive strategy midway through the second paving the way for the Beermen to convert their stops to a double-digit lead and finally woke up their reinforcement from a deep slumber.
Bey has been a steady contributor to Magnolia. The only problem was that the locals kept shooting blanks and seemed nervous facing the Beermen.
Since Boatwright Jr.’s awakening, draining triples has never been easier for San Miguel. The tallest import of the conference was joined by Marcio Lassiter from downtown and closed the first half with a 61-44 lead.
The halftime break became more beneficial for the Hotshots as they had enough time to adjust their plays both offensively and defensively. The locals too started to step up to aid the one-man-team Bey.
For many games, Aris Dionisio has been Coach Victolero’s magic bunot. Nothing has changed as the agile wingman became instrumental in his team’s trailing efforts in the 3rd quarter. Aside from Dionisio, Marc Barroca has also been consistent for Magnolia in the entire playoffs.
Slowly but surely, the Hotshots inched close to SMB. Ian Sanggalang and Bey also did a terrific job in containing “The Kraken” underneath the basket. Fajardo only had 7 in 3 quarters which is way below his usual output.
Despite having a great third quarter by Magnolia, San Miguel remained ahead by a dozen, 85-72 marching onto the final chapter.
No one’s stopping San Miguel. Come the 4th period, SMB blitzed for a 7-0 scoring surge to force Coach Victolero to burn an unnecessary timeout.
With 7 more minutes left in the ballgame, San Miguel’s lead ballooned to 20 big points. Meanwhile, Coach Victolero threw the towel in by pulling out Bey and replacing him with Joseph Eriobu.
Even though Magnolia has already waived the white flag, Coach Gallent retained his star players on the floor to prevent a comeback, especially an upset.
Coach Gallent was right all along. He knew that Magnolia was capable of resurrecting from the ashes. With 3 minutes remaining, lo and behold, the Hotshots trimmed the lead to just 9. And guess what, Eriobu single-handedly did the downsizing.
The Hotshots played a high-pressure defense against San Miguel resulting in a 5-point deficit during the 2-minute warning and placing SMB in a panic mode.
Seeing a silver lining, Coach Victolero sent Bey together with Paul Lee in with 40 ticks left. However, Coach Victolero’s decision was a little bit too late as SMB escaped with a 103-95 game 1 win.
PBA fans can expect Magnolia to bounce back in Game 2 which will be on Sunday, February 4, 2024, at 6:15 pm, still at the MOA Arena.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
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| The Beermen luckily evaded a Magnolia-bench 4th-quarter scoring barrage to take Game 1. Photo courtesy: PBA.ph |
Being in the league for a while and battling numerous games, San Miguel and Magnolia didn’t need ample time to gauge each other. As soon as the ball went up for the opening toss, players from both squads took off and traded baskets one after another.
The Beermen went through multiple fastbreak plays, leaving Coach Chito Victolero no choice but to call a ceasefire. After the timeout, the Hotshots matched SMB’s intensity, caught up in no time, and even snatched the lead.
As expected, the imports from both teams engaged in a duel. But it was ex-Dallas Maverick, Tyler Bey who had the edge in the first period with 10 points, and Magnolia took the opener, 24-20.
SMB’s prolific sorcerer, Bennie Boatwright Jr., who was averaging 40.33 points before the playoffs, struggled to fill up his stats sheet, especially from the three-point lane up until the dawn of the 2nd quarter. Despite his subpar performance, San Miguel was back at the helm.
Not only Boatwright Jr. was having an off night, but 7-time MVP June Mar Fajardo couldn’t find his jive too in the first half. Good thing that locals Terrence Romeo and Don Trollana shouldered the offensive duties to maintain their advantage.
Coach Jorge Gallent adjusted his defensive strategy midway through the second paving the way for the Beermen to convert their stops to a double-digit lead and finally woke up their reinforcement from a deep slumber.
Bey has been a steady contributor to Magnolia. The only problem was that the locals kept shooting blanks and seemed nervous facing the Beermen.
Since Boatwright Jr.’s awakening, draining triples has never been easier for San Miguel. The tallest import of the conference was joined by Marcio Lassiter from downtown and closed the first half with a 61-44 lead.
The halftime break became more beneficial for the Hotshots as they had enough time to adjust their plays both offensively and defensively. The locals too started to step up to aid the one-man-team Bey.
For many games, Aris Dionisio has been Coach Victolero’s magic bunot. Nothing has changed as the agile wingman became instrumental in his team’s trailing efforts in the 3rd quarter. Aside from Dionisio, Marc Barroca has also been consistent for Magnolia in the entire playoffs.
Slowly but surely, the Hotshots inched close to SMB. Ian Sanggalang and Bey also did a terrific job in containing “The Kraken” underneath the basket. Fajardo only had 7 in 3 quarters which is way below his usual output.
Despite having a great third quarter by Magnolia, San Miguel remained ahead by a dozen, 85-72 marching onto the final chapter.
No one’s stopping San Miguel. Come the 4th period, SMB blitzed for a 7-0 scoring surge to force Coach Victolero to burn an unnecessary timeout.
With 7 more minutes left in the ballgame, San Miguel’s lead ballooned to 20 big points. Meanwhile, Coach Victolero threw the towel in by pulling out Bey and replacing him with Joseph Eriobu.
Even though Magnolia has already waived the white flag, Coach Gallent retained his star players on the floor to prevent a comeback, especially an upset.
Coach Gallent was right all along. He knew that Magnolia was capable of resurrecting from the ashes. With 3 minutes remaining, lo and behold, the Hotshots trimmed the lead to just 9. And guess what, Eriobu single-handedly did the downsizing.
The Hotshots played a high-pressure defense against San Miguel resulting in a 5-point deficit during the 2-minute warning and placing SMB in a panic mode.
Seeing a silver lining, Coach Victolero sent Bey together with Paul Lee in with 40 ticks left. However, Coach Victolero’s decision was a little bit too late as SMB escaped with a 103-95 game 1 win.
PBA fans can expect Magnolia to bounce back in Game 2 which will be on Sunday, February 4, 2024, at 6:15 pm, still at the MOA Arena.
— Joey Boy Capos, The Summit Express
