by Jonas Terrado
Arwind Santos is looking to fulfill his own prophecy tonight as San Miguel Beer and Magnolia dispute the all-important 3-2 lead entering the pivotal stage of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Hungry to finally put San Miguel in the driver seat after a seesaw battle through four games, Santos sounded confident of his team’s chances going into the 7 p.m. match with the winner moving a game shy of capturing the season’s most prestigious competition.
San Miguel Beer’s Christian Standhardinger and Magnolia’s Mark Barroca fight for the looseball during Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals held Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen won 114-98 to tie the series at 2-2. (MB photo | Rio Leonelle Deluvio)
“Malamang may lalamang, malamang kami na yun. Sana kami na (We will probably get the advantage and I hope it will happen),” Santos said after the Beermen placed the series back to square one Wednesday with a 114-98 triumph.
Santos had every reason to fire a warning shot after San Miguel’s offense returned from its Game 3 struggles with June Mar Fajardo dominating his way to 31 points.
San Miguel’s near 52 percent shooting was able to neutralize Magnolia’s strength on the defensive end, something coach Leo Austria hopes will continue.
Coach Chito Victolero, however, lamented Magnolia’s defensive effort after allowing San Miguel to reach the century mark for the second time.
Magnolia gave up 88 points while forcing San Miguel to make 35 percent of its shots during the two wins.
However, San Miguel averaged 113 points on a 47 percent clip when it took Games 2 and 4.
“Mataas yung 100-plus points na binigay namin (Giving up 100-plus points was too much),” said Victolero.