MANILA, 18 December 2006 — For a team which has a two-time MVP coming off the bench, San Miguel should be a truly special squad.
The Beermen won a sixth straight game last night, ripping Talk ‘N Text, 114-102, after Danny Seigle scored 26 points and Danny Ildefonso 18 in a relief role that assured the squad of a playoff for the second automatic semis berth in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Ildefonso has been asked to come off the bench of late, and the results have been encouraging with the Beermen sustaining a surge that has seen them bounce back from the absolute bottom of the pack to the top.
“He (Ildefonso) has accepted his role of coming off the bench,” said San Miguel Beer coach Chot Reyes.
But the story of the rout came in the third period, when Seigle scored 16 of his total and Ildefonso and Lordy Tugade eight each in a 42-point period that had the Beermen opening the game wide open. San Miguel actually trailed, 18-26 after the first period, before settling for a 50-50 tie at the break.
It looked like the game would wind down to a classic finish, until all things worked for the Beermen in the third which gave them a 92-72 lead heading into the final 12 minutes.
The win was the 12th in 17 games for the Beermen, who will get a crack at the No. 2 spot after the eliminations, the same privilege enjoyed by sister team Barangay Ginebra, which paces the field with a 12-4 slate.
Guard Dondon Hontiveros had 15 points, Tugade 14 and Olsen Racela 11 for San Miguel. Dorian Pena and Rommel Adducul pulled down a chunk of the team’s 64 rebounds by grabbing 17 and 10, respectively.
Red Bull stayed on course toward an outright Final Four seat, completing a night of routs at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao after a 112-92 walloping of defending champion Purefoods in the second game. Mick Pennisi scored 19 points and led five other Barako with 12 points or more as Red Bull improved to 11-6 with a game left, its chances of advancing hinging on a win in its final game and only one team from either San Miguel or the Gin Kings winning more than 12.
Red Bull’s victory shut the door on the Chunkee Giants’ aspirations of a semifinal seat, as Purefoods would now need to slug it out with three other teams if it is to make the Final Four. Incidentally, the streak has snapped for the Giants, who have made the semis of each of the last two tournaments outright, finishing second in the first, before holding off Red Bull in six games the last time this championship was disputed. James Yap scored 25 points and Kerby Raymundo 17 for the Giants, who fell behind, 57-41 after two quarters and were never really able to recover. Four of the twin digit scorers for Guiao actually came off the bench, with Larry Fonacier shooting 16, Carlo Sharma 14, and point guard Celino Cruz 12.
