Beermen, Kings arrange semis showdown

MANILA, Philippines — Top seed San Miguel Beer hit two birds with one stone in beating No. 8 Meralco, 108-97, in last night’s PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals clash at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Firstly, the twice-to-beat Beermen blitzed their way to the best-of-seven semifinals series and met their next immediate objective in this redemption campaign.

Then as sweetener, the charges of coach Leo Austria got a kick out of ending the reign of the Bolts, their conquerors in last season’s All-Filipino finals.

“This team is really thinking of getting back at Meralco in the playoffs. It’s all about pride because in the last championship of the All-Filipino, they beat us so we redeemed ourselves from that loss,” said Austria.

“And then in the last conference (Commissioner’s Cup), we didn’t get into the playoffs. Now we’re in the semifinals and it’s an achievement. But we’re preparing to go all the way to the finals and get the championship. But it’s a long road ahead.”

Next up is fourth-seeded Barangay Ginebra, which, taking the cue from the Beermen, cashed in on its own win-once edge against No. 5 Converge, 88-80, in the nightcap.

The Gin Kings seized control with a 52-33 exchange in the middle quarters then kept the FiberXers at bay in the final push to complete the advance.

SMB drew production not only from the usual suspects but also from the shock troopers in clinching the F4 seat at Meralco’s expense.

June Mar Fajardo dished out 23 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks as CJ Perez had 14 and 9 and Juami Tiongson rifled in 19 spiked by four triples.

Backup big man Rodney Brondial, playing as starter, turned in 13-11 while Don Trollano netted 19 and Mo Tautuaa delivered 10-11 off the bench.

The Beermen opened the game with a 14-3 salvo and led by as many as 16 in the first half.