CHICAGO - If the numbers really don't lie, it's easy to explain why the ongoing PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals is now tied at 2-2 after San Miguel handily won the first two games.
The beer had simply gone cold.
After scoring a combined 212 points in Games One and Two, San Miguel was held to a total of just 165 in their Games Three and Four losses.
READ Fajardo plays through calf injury in Game Four
Stunning as it is, there's logic behind the 47-point drop in production.
The Beermen, who shot 45.2 percent from the field (72-of-159) and 36.1 percent from three-land (26-of-72) in their wins, hit a measly 35.5 percent from the field (58-of-163) and 20.5 percent from beyond the arc (15-of-73) in their losses.
And to Magnolia's credit, their defense finally contained San Miguel import Bennie Boatwright.
After exploding for 62 in Games One and Two , Boatright was held to 27 in Game Three and 16 in last night's Game 4 where he was held to 5-of-16 from the field and 1-of-9 from 3.
LIMITING BOATRIGHT'S DAMAGE.
Asked if forcing Boatwright to be more of a passer than a scorer and thus pressuring him to give up the ball was by design, coach Chito Victorlero politely declined to comment.
"Di ko po pwede sabihin ang game plan."
Another reason for the Hotshot's rally is the resurgence of its key players. In the first two games, it was mostly import Tyler Bey and Mark Barroca who consistently did the heavy lifting on offense.
But with their backs on the wall, the other guys have stepped up.
Jio Jalalon, Ian Sangalang and Paul Lee combined for 33 in Game 3 and put together another 35 in Game Four.
And while San Miguel is deemed to be the deeper squad with their "Death 15," Magnolia's bench is actually winning the scoring battle among reserves in these Finals, 155-94.
June Mar Fajardo has been automatic as expected - 57 points and 51 rebounds through four games - but Marcio Lassiter has cooled off a bit since exploding for 16 points on four triples in Game One.
In the aftermath of their Game One and Game Two demise, the Hotshots are mocked and ridiculed as "introvoys."
Now that they've punched back-to-back wins, you'd think they'd get some flowers.
BUT NAH. NOT IN THIS WACKY, WICKED WORLD.
Instead of crediting Magnolia, the overwhelming narrative on social media now is that San Miguel is supposedly tanking to make way for a Game 7.
I'm not going to waste brain power to argue the merits of that claim, so discuss among yourselves.
What I'd like to say though is that this is all so unfair to Magnolia. The Hotshots can't seem to win even when they actually won.
It doesn't make sense, but that's the PBA for you.
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