Beermen nails 3rd place

Source: Manila Times
By WAYLON GALVEZ
February 24, 2010, 8:47pm

After failing to enter the Finals despite high expectations, San Miguel Beer took the consolation prize as it downed Barangay Ginebra in the battle for third, 95-88, in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Ace shooting guard Dondon Hontiveros led the Beermen with 18 points with six rebounds and four assists, while two-time Most Valuable Player Danny Ildefonso came off the bench to add 15 with six boards.

It was the 15th time in franchise history that San Miguel finished third overall in a conference, the most for any team in the PBA.

It was also the team’s fifth third place finish in an all – Filipino conference.

However, it was not the team’s target at the start of the season when it solidified its roster by acquiring talented wingman Arwind Santos and versatile point guard Denok Miranda in the off-season without losing any member of its powerhouse cast.

Fellow SMC sister-team Purefoods, though, had other plans when it came back from a 1-2 deficit, winning the next three games to win the best-of-seven series in six games.

Looking back, San Miguel coach Siot Tanquincen admitted that they lacked cohesion.

“We were not playing as a team,” he said. “Hindi namin ‘yun strength. Let’s admit it, SMB has good talent but we cannot rely on one-one-on talent. That’s not our system. They’re good players but they have to play in a system.”

“We did not do that in the last three games that we played (in the semis against Purefoods),” Tanquincen, whose team made it outright to the Final Four, added.

At least San Miguel Beer showed its old deadly form on its final game when it used a 12-4 run to turn a 73-72 edge to 85-76 on two free throws by Jay Washington with 6:33 left in the game.

San Miguel forward Danny Seigle, who returned late in the classification phase after sustaining a back injury, had 10 points, while Dorian Peña contributed 10 and 11 rebounds.

Ginebra, which dethroned Talk ’N Text in their controversial quarterfinals series but was swept by Alaska (4-0) in the Final Four, got 22 points from guard Ronald Tubid. Wingman JC Intal had 13 and seldom-used forward Rich Alvarez added 10 points.

Tanquincen said the team will take a two-week break before preparing for their title-retention bid in the Fiesta Cup, which begins March 21.
The Beermen will have returning Best Import winner Gabe Freeman.

“We have high hopes but I have guarded optimism. Last year he (Freeman) was able to sneak in. It’s going to be doubly hard because pinaghahandaan ka na. We have to do a better job as a whole team. As we know, Gabe is not an individual scorer,” he said.

As for Ginebra, which won the Fiesta Cup two seasons back, the Kings will have NBA veteran Awvee Storey as reinforcement.

Game 1 of the Finals between Alaska and Purefoods was ongoing at presstime. (Tempo Sports)

The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 95 – Hontiveros 18, Ildefonso 15, Seigle 10, Peña 10, Villanueva 9, Cortez 9, Washington 8, Racela 8, Miranda 6, Holper 2, Custodio 0.
GINEBRA 88 – Tubid 22, Intal 13, Alvarez 10, Cagioa 9, Mamaril 8, Villanueva 8, Helterbrand 7, Baguio 4, White 3, Wilson 2, Abarrientos 2, Salvacion 0.
Quarters: 24-31, 47-43, 69-70, 95-88.