SMB blasts Ginebra in open semis clash

San Miguel opened its best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series against Ginebra in dominating fashion, scoring a 102-90 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City Friday night. (Photo: PBA/Facebook)

MANILA — San Miguel opened its best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series against Ginebra in dominating fashion, scoring a 102-90 win at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City Friday night.

The Beermen slowly but surely took control of the ballgame, going full throttle in the third quarter, where they led by as much as 19 points.

Arwind Santos sizzled for 23 points on 9-of-14 shooting, eight rebounds, and three assists for SMB, which took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Von Pessumal made 7-of-10 field goals and four triples for 18 points.

Japeth Aguilar, Sol Mercado, and Scottie Thompson each had 17 markers for Ginebra.

Box Scores:

San Miguel 102: Santos 23, Pessumal 18, Lassiter 17, Cabagnot 15, Fajardo 9, Rosser 8, Ross 6, Heruela 4, Espinas 2, Semerad 0, De Ocampo 0, Mamaril 0, Vigil 0

Ginebra 90: Thompson 17, Mercado 17, J. Aguilar 17, Mariano 12, Caperal 8, Tenorio 6, Ferrer 5, Cruz 4, Devance 4, Manuel 0, R. Aguilar 0, Taha 0

Quarterscores: 26-20, 50-41, 78-63, 102-90