SAN Miguel flaunted its offensive might on Wednesday night to score a 111-101 wire-to-wire win over Meralco that tied the PBA Philippine Cup finals at 2-2.
June Mar Fajardo justified his 10th Best Player of the Conference (BPC) award by coming through with monster numbers of 28 points and 13 rebounds in his most productive showing so far in the best-of-seven title series.
For the first time in the finals, the reigning champions never trailed and survived the best the Bolts could offer.
Game 5 is now set Friday also at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Here are some of the takeaways from Game 4:
FAJARDO IS 8-2 IN GAME 4 OF FINALS WHEN WINNING BPC AWARD
The 6-foot-10 Fajardo’s winning percentage during Game 4 every time he receives a Best Player of the Conference award is high enough that it wasn’t a surprise the Beermen came away with the victory. The seven-time MVP played his best game of the title series as the giant in Fajardo appeared to have awakened and now ready to lead the franchise to a record 30th championship.
NEWSOME SHOWS HOW DRIVEN HE IS IN CLAIMING FIRST EVER TITLE
The Fil-Am guard remains the main catalyst for the Bolts in search of his first-ever PBA championship, dropping a career-high 40 points on 12-of-18 shooting, while adding six rebounds, four assists, and no turnovers. He had 31 points in the second half as he carried most of the load for Meralco in battling Fajardo and the rest of the Beermen.
WELCOME BACK, ‘MUSCLE MAN’
Fans finally saw a glimpse of veteran Vic Manuel playing in the best-of-seven finals for the first time. The 36-year-old forward provided quality minutes with eight points, two rebounds, and an assist. Unlike teammate Terrence Romeo – who also saw action in the finals for the first time – who’s nursing a calf injury, little is known of what bothers Manuel. But the ‘Muscle Man’ did confirm he fell ill and practiced with the team for just two days prior to the finals. Hopefully, it’s not a one-done game for Manuel in the finals.
ALMAZAN, QUINTO MISSING LINKS IN GAME 4
After showing up in Game 3, Raymond Almazan was a missing link again for the Bolts. The 6-foot-8 Almazan was held to just two points and three rebounds in Game 4 after coming off a 17-13 stat line the previous outing. Quinto did a little bit better with six points and three rebounds, but still not in the proximity of his 16-point, six-rebound outing in Game 3.
MALIKSI YET TO SHOW UP AGAIN
After a good series opener, Allein Maliksi hasn’t made his presence felt again for the Bolts. So far in the series, Maliksi is averaging 10.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists, while only shooting 23 percent from long range. While his numbers may be decent, the veteran gunner has yet to make an impact in the finals other than in the Bolts’ 93-86 win in Game 1 where he tallied 15 points. His other vivid image in the title series was his spat with San Miguel’s Jeron Teng in Game 3 of the series.
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