San Miguel guard Chris Ross holds up the ball during a PBA Governors Cup game against Ginebra. – PBA Images
Behind a record-breaking night by Marcio Lassiter, San Miguel Beer outplayed Barangay Ginebra, 131-82, with deliberate precision in a dominating performance that served as a warning to other teams in the PBA.
The Beermen crushed a crowd favorite that was on a four-game winning streak by nearly every conceivable statistical metric, while simultaneously handing a highly decorated Tim Cone and his beloved team the worst loss in league history.
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Chris Ross, one of the key figures in the Beermans dynasty, was surprised to learn that his team had actually broken a franchise record that night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, the same night his teammate Lassiter broke Jimmy Alapag’s career record of 1,250th triple.
“We don’t go into the game expecting to do that,” he said, shaking his head about the league record. “We’re just trying to get better every game and play the right way.”
Lassiter set a league record within the first five minutes of play at the Big Dome, and his teammates followed his lead, racking up more and more points as the game progressed.
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Eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo had 24 points and 17 rebounds, gritty guard CJ Perez had 22 points and six assists and Lassiter closed out the game with a fateful 18 points.
Thanks in part to local talent, Terrence Romeo added 14 points and Don Trollano 11, the Beermen shot nearly 60 percent from the field and advanced to the crossover quarterfinals.
San Miguel’s game on Sunday was intense and barely needed any scoring from foreign player Jordan Adams, who became the first player in the conference to reach 50 points and nearly repeated that mark just a few days later.
The numbers are of little importance
With two games remaining, the Beermen can improve to 8-2, but as Ross said, numbers barely matter at this point.
“We’re just trying to improve as a team,” said the captain, who also currently serves as assistant to Jorge Galento.
“We don’t care about winning or losing, we care about making the right plays, and today we made the right plays. Everything went well,” he added.
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San Miguel’s next opponent is a rain-beating team that will be eager to clinch a spot in the next round. The champions will play this Thursday. The Beermen will then finish off the repechage round against Blackwater on Saturday. INQ
