SMB's lucky 9 against the SLR

Will the Sta. Lucia Realtors have their revenge from the first-round beating? Or will the San Miguel Beermen continue to gun for another win?

And the game tonight answered those questions.

It was the Retribution vs. the Mastery. The holy war of the saints! The San Miguel and the Sta. Lucia. The #1 fast break team vs. the #1 defensive team.

Game after game, both teams are probably considering mistakes as a challenge in order to get back on track. And that was what the Beermen practically had for dinner just before the game.

It was almost impossible to stop the Beermen from shooting baskets during the first quarter of the game. Perimeter shots and jumpers from Dondon Hontiveros started the SMB-confidence that electrified the other Beermen who continued the shots. But coach Boyet Fernandez and the Realtors are definitely not giving up this fight, not another defeat against the Beermen, as we all remember how they got beaten during their on-the-road game at Victorias City. And with that motivation, coach Boyet’s boys tried to break the momentum cutting the lead down to 1 during halftime. A point coach Siot had to talk over in the dug-out.

“Let’s try to be a better team. We have to execute proper defense to limit turn overs and turn over points” coach reminded his boys.

And the 2nd half made the Beermen execute what coach told them to. They never took the Realtors lightly making them bleed for so many baskets, making their shooting skills sour on the court. They showed the battle and the rhythm, the momentum and the skills. It was so hard to stop SMB especially when the guys are shooting non stop. They spotted the gaps and played like veterans putting the ball in the paint. Assists and steals filled the SMB court making it easy for them to take in the money for the ball. It was like picking and rolling and finishing with not just 2 but 3-pointers. And looks like the Beermen found all the answers, pushing it down to the core.

Stellar frontline performance, bench-scoring was excellent plus the exceptional coaching staff coming into pace were the perfect match for the lucky 9th win of the San Miguel Beermen.

It was shining time for Dondon Hontiveros who had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Mike Cortez, Lordy Tugade, Danny Siegle and of course Arwind Santos were also some of the Beermen who contributed big time finishing a 110-94 game against the Sta. Lucia Realtors.