THE San Miguel Beermen stamped their class as the hottest team in the league by tallying their seventh straight victory in the 2009-2010 KFC Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup with a 107-84 rout of the Coca-Cola Tigers in front of a good weekend crowd at the New Cebu Coliseum last Saturday.
The Beermen improved to 7-2 overall, behind the pacesetting Alaska Aces (7-1) as of Sunday afternoon as I am writing this column. The Aces continue to lead the standings, but their aura of invincibility was removed after they bowed to the then-winless Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
The rampaging Beermen have been virtually unstoppable because of the sheer number of weapons at their disposal.
They can overwhelm you with athleticism with the likes of Arwind Santos and Hontiveros; bludgeon you with size with Dorina Peña and Sam Eman; outthink you on the floor with the likes of Olsen Racela; or strangulate you with their defense with the likes of Denok Miranda and Santos.
Saturday, it was the turn of hometown boy Hontiveros to carry the team to victory even as he cracked the 5,000-point plateau. Hontiveros was obviously inspired playing before his kababayans, churning out a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Beermen started the massacre early as they built a 20-point cushion at 51-31 on a floating shot by Bonbon Custodio before settling for a 56-39 spread at the half and going on to coast to victory.
Before the victory over the Tigers, the Beermen relied on a career-high scoring binge from Santos to tame the Barako Bull Energy Boosters, 104-89, at the Araneta Coliseum.
Santos unloaded a career best 33 points to pace the Beermen. The Energy Boosters lost despite career-best numbers in scoring from Yousif Aljamal, Paolo Hubalde and Ogie Menor.
Aljamal tallied 21 points for Barako Bull while Hubalde chipped in 20 markers and Menor had 18 points.
The Energy Boosters kept pace with the Beermen until late in the game. It looked like it was anybody’s ballgame after Gilbert Lao made a free throw and Hubalde nailed an eight-footer to pull Barako Bull within 72-74, with 8:48 remaining.
The Beermen scored the next seven points—five by Miranda—to hike their lead to nine points.
Hontiveros scored a respectable 21 points, Miranda came off the bench and poured in 11 of his 17 points in the fourth. Mike Cortez scored seven of his 10 points also in the last 12 minutes.
The Energy Boosters, who played their second game in three days, picked up their third straight loss and fourth in seven games overall. But they went down fighting against the rampaging Beermen.
Prior to that victory, the Beermen also essayed another rout with a 92-76 spanking of the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.
The Beermen opened the season with back-to-back losses to the Barangay Ginebra Kings and Alaska.
They have since picked up their game to roll to seven straight victories against the Burger King Whopper, the Talk ’N Text Tropang Texters, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the Sta. Lucia Realtors, the Giants, the Energy Boosters and the Tigers.
Okay, admittedly the Beermen’s past two victories were against relatively lightweight opposition in Coca-Cola and Barako Bull. But the fact remains that the Aces may be on top of the standings with a 7-1 card, but the hottest team in the league are the dangerous Beermen with their seven straight victories.
Another important thing to consider—the Beermen are winning without injured stars Danny Siegle, Danny Ildefonso and Jay Washington.
Because of size, speed and skill, Seigle is unstoppable in his position at the two or the three. Ildefonso is a two-time most valuable player, who can do it all on both ends of the court. Washington is a talented big man who can play either forward position with equal facility.
Once those three return to active duty, can any team stop the Beermen?
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