SAN Miguel got its PBA Philippine Cup title-retention bid off on a rousing note following a 109-97 victory over Rain or Shine on Friday night, while Meralco left a pro-Barangay Ginebra crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum disappointed after a 91-73 runaway win in the main game.
Here are five takeaways from the weekend doubleheader:
1) June Mar Fajardo remains the barometer of every SAN Miguel’s campaign including the ongoing Philippine Cup, where the Beermen are the defending champions. The seven-time MVP had a decent double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s debut game against Rain or Shine, 109-97. But the good news for SAN Miguel is Fajardo being in the pink of health again after playing through a calf injury during the Commissioner’s Cup finals. With Fajardo around, the star-studded team has a pretty good chance of going for back-to-back All-Filipino championships and a sweep of the PBA’s Season 48.
2) Barangay Ginebra’s Jamie Malonzo was shackled by Meralco just when things were looking good for the third-year forward. The 6-foot-7 Fil-Am averaged 24.5 points on 42 percent shooting from three-point range in the Kings’ first two games of the conference, but was held to just four points on 2-of-10 shooting from the field. He also committed six turnovers in what coach Tim Cone described as an ‘embarrassing night’ for the team.
3) Despite losing for a fourth straight game, a positive take in Rain or Shine’s 109-97 drubbing at the hands of SAN Miguel’ is Lenard Santillan emerging as the new face of the Elasto Painters. The 6-foot-4 Cebuano scored career highs in points (31) and rebounds (14) despite the team still winless in its campaign. The former La Salle stalwart always stood out during the Philippine Cup, where he registered three of his four highest career outputs as per PBA chief statistician Fidel Mangonon III. Incidentally, two of those three highest outputs of him came at the expense of San Miguel.
4) Allein Maliksi solidified his role as the next-best scoring option for Meralco outside of Chris Newsome, and the veteran gunner proved it in the Bolts’ 18-point blowout of Ginebra. The 36-year-old Maliksi topscored for 25 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range as his timely hits kept Barangay Ginebra’ from making a serious run. Maliksi has been averaging 17.3 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists coming off the bench for the 2-3 Bolts.
5) Scottie Thompson missed his third straight game for Barangay Ginebra and chances are, he won’t be back playing again until April. The former MVP continues to recover from a back injury, and while he has a target date in mind for a possible return, Thompson admitted doctors have yet to give him a timetable on when he could play anew.
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