With their backs against the wall, the defending champion San Miguel Beermen played like there's no tomorrow, finally showing their vaunted firepower to flatten the Alaska Aces, 96-80, Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum in Game 3 of the PBA Fiesta Conference Finals. San Miguel's first win in the championship series cut Alaska's lead to 2-1 going into Game 4 on Friday. The Beermen thus avoided falling into a 0-3 deficit which no team in PBA history has overcome. Gabe Freeman and Jay Washington led the San Miguel juggernaut, scoring 24 and 23 points respectively. Freeman also grabbed 20 rebounds while Washington had 10. Arwind Santos chipped in 18 points while Danny Ildefonso contributed 10 points. Olsen Racela played his 900th game in 17 PBA seasons and scored nine points including two back-to-back three-pointers in the fourth quarter that padded San Miguel's lead to 96-77 with less than 2 minutes left in the game. The Beermen showed no mercy, going on a 24-4 run in a six-minute period in the opening quarter. The Aces launched wave after wave of rallies but were repulsed each time by the highly energized Beermen. Putting the handcuffs on their rivals, the Beermen forced 23 Alaska turnovers and dominated the boards with a 49-29 rebounding edge. The Beermen limited Alaska import Diamon Simpson to just 16 points and 11 rebounds – a huge drop from his 28.5-point and 19 rebound averages in the first two games of the series. Joe DeVance chipped in 12 points while Baguio had 11. Sonny Thoss played his first game in the series after suffering a second degree sprain in the middle of the Aces' semifinals series with Talk N Text. He finished with 8 points. “We've finally got the monkey off our backs,” said Washington, who was adjudged Best Player of the Game. San Miguel head coach Siot Tanquingcen credited the win to their tenacious defense. “Defense brought us here,” he said. Before the game started, James Yap was awarded his second Most Valuable Player (MVP) title in annual PBA Leo Awards. He won over Arwind Santos and Jay Washington of San Miguel Beer and LA Tenorio and Sonny Thoss of Alaska. With eyes in tears and his voice crackling, Yap dedicated his award to his son James Aquino Yap Jr. during his emotional acceptance speech. “I would like to dedicate this award to the most special person in my life, Baby James,” said Yap, who had never seen his son since Game Five of the semifinals of the Fiesta Conference last month. “I would like to thank God for giving me the strength,” said Yap, whose marriage to celebrity and presidential sister Kris Aquino is now in the process of being annulled.” As expected, Yap led the First Mythical Team composed of Tenorio, Washington, Santos (SMB) and Thoss (Alaska), while the Second Mythical Team was comprised of Asi Taulava, Kelly Williams and Mac-Mac Cardona of Talk ‘N Text, Joe Devance and Roger Yap. Rico Maierhofer was adjudged Rookie of the Year, beating Josh Urbiztondo of Sta. Lucia Realty (now Meralco), while Tenorio was named Most Improved Player. Cyrus Baguio of Alaska was awarded with the Sportsmanship Award. Santos, Marc Pingris, Gabe Norwood, Roger Yap and Ryan Reyes make up the All Defensive team.
