When the smoke cleared, Sta. Lucia found itself buried under the rubble of the most devastating defeat in any PBA championship setto in years.
San Miguel dealt Sta. Lucia one blowout of a win, 106-73, last night at the Philsports Arena to draw level with two games apiece in their best-of-seven showdown for the PBA Governors Cup championship.
It was practically over in the first 24 minutes as the Beermen greeted the Realtors with a rapid-fire offense and rumbled mightily on with guns still blazing at the finish.
The Beermen streaked to a 48-24 lead and sat on a 58-35 cushion at halftime. They never let up on the hapless Realtors in completing what could be remembered as one of the most one-sided games in the PBA finals.
Actually, it’s the second most lopsided, next to Alaska’s 99-61 rout of San Miguel in Game Six of the 1998 All-Filipino Cup title playoff.
"We shot really well and I myself was surprised by our great shooting. It happens once in a while. I don’t think it will happen again in the next couple of days," said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.
"So buhay na naman kami. Magandang laban ang Game Five. We have the momentum in our side. I hope we can sustain our shooting Friday but I’m sure Sta. Lucia we’ll be there fighting," he added.
The Beermen shut the lights out of the playing venue right in the opening half, going 10-of-14 from the three-point area and launching pocket attacks in the perimeter. They led by as many as 25 points three times, the last at 58-33.
But their finest moment came in the first six minutes of the second quarter where Lamont Strothers made four triples while Boybits Victoria added two in a big 22-5 assault. That tore open a 26-19 count at the end of the first period to 48-24.
Curiously, San Miguel made the decisive move with second stringers Victoria, Nic Belasco, Dan Seigle together with Strothers and Dorian Peña. In the first half, the San Miguel bench outscored its Sta. Lucia counterpart, 19-4.
The Beermen shot 56 percent from the field compared to the Realtors’ 44 percent clip. They also lorded it over the boards, 21-17, while limiting themselves to only five turnovers to the Realtors’ nine.
Strothers, Seigle and Lago accounted for the four blocks — all on Marlou Aquino.
Actually, the Realtors dragged the Beermen into a close fight in the first period with Damian Owens making hard drives to the basket while Aquino doing his job in the paint.
They were down by only a basket at 19-21 before Seigle made a five-point binge coming off the bench in the final minute.