SMB whips Ginebra for 3-1 semis lead

San Miguel Beer’s Marcio Lassiter and Barangay Ginebra’s Sol Mercado (Photo courtesy of PBA Media Bureau)

MANILA — San Miguel Beer blitzed past Barangay Ginebra, 102-81, in Game 4 of their PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Thursday night.

SMB pulled away for good from Ginebra late in the first quarter as the team took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Barangay actually pulled off a scare early in the fourth quarter, cutting what was once a 29-point lead down to 18, but the Beermen held on the rest of the game.

Marcio Lassiter tallied 23 points on five triples, four rebounds, six assists, one steal, and one block for SMB, which can knock out Ginebra in Game 5 on Saturday night at the Cuneta Astrodome, also in Pasay City.

Chris Ross, who was questionable prior to the game due to a right thigh strain he got in Game 3, played through the pain and contributed 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the field.

Japeth Aguilar tallied 31 markers, 13 rebounds, and four steals for the Barangay, which now needs to sweep the remaining three games to steal the playoff series from their sister team.

Box Scores:

San Miguel 102-Lassiter 23, Cabagnot 19, Santos 16, Fajardo 14, Rosser 12, Ross 11, Espinas 4, Pessumal 3, Heruela 0, De Ocampo 0, Lanete 0, Mamaril 0, Agovida 0, Vigil 0

Ginebra 81-J. Aguilar 31, Tenorio 20, Cruz 9, Mercado 5, Ferrer 3, Caperal 3, Caguioa 3, Devance 2, Mariano 2, Manuel 2, Thompson 1, R. Aguilar 0

Quarterscores: 32-22, 58-41, 84-58, 102-81