The San Miguel Beermen foiled the Barangay Ginebra Kings' bid to wrap up the championship of the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Cup, whipping the defending champion 98-84, Wednesday to extend the series to a deciding Game 7 on Friday at the Araneta Coliseum. Clamping down on defense while staying razor-sharp on offense, the Beermen seized control in the second quarter, frustrating every rally the Kings mounted. Gabe Freeman shone brightest for San Miguel as he shot 9-of-13 from the field to lead all scorers with 24 points. He also snared 12 rebounds, thus completing his 21st triple-double game in the conference – the most made by any player. The flashy San Miguel import got huge support from Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez, Dondon Hontiveros, Jonas Villanueva, Jay Washington, Marc Pingris and Mick Pennisi. Typifying their sharpness, the Beermen shot 47.4 percent from the field in the second quarter compared to the Kings' miserable 28.6 percent clip. San Miguel also dominated the boards. After a tightly fought first half, which San Miguel took 44-34, the Beermen took control of the game. Hontiveros drained two triples, to spark a 16-2 run that gave the Beermen a 44-31 lead. In the third quarter, Freeman waxed hot, knocking in 12 points including seven straight points through a three-pointer and back-to-back dunks. Meanwhile, the Philippine national basketball team leaves Thursday for Taipei, Taiwan for the prestigious William Jones Cup to test its strength against other Asian squads. The tournament, which serves as preparation for the 25th FIBA-Asia men's basketball championship, begins Saturday with the Powerade Philippine team opening its campaign in the nine-team, single round-robin competition against Jordan at 7 P.M. Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, South Korea, Japan and Kazakhstan will also be playing in the tournament. After the Jones Cup, China will host the FIBA-Asia tournament on August 6. The top three teams from the tourney will qualify to the 16th World Championship in Istanbul, Turkey, next year. On Wednesday, the Filipinos received the good news that point guard Jayjay Helterbrand is ready to play after his hamstring injury turned out to be a minor one. The rest of the team includes Asi Taulava, Sonny Thoss, Kerby Raymundo, James Yap, Gabe Norwood, Ranidel de Ocampo, Jared Dillinger, Mick Pennisi, Willie Miller, Arwind Santos, and Cyrus Baguio. Pennisi, Baguio and Helterbrand will fly to Taiwan on Saturday since the PBA Fiesta Cup Finals has been extended to a Game 7 on Friday. Wynne Arboleda has also been tapped by head coach Yeng Guiao to join his team to replace the injured Ryan Reyes, who is still nursing a pulled hamstring injury. __
