Here are the live scores, updates, and results of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Semi-Finals Game 4 between the San Miguel Beermen (SMB) and the Meralco Bolts scheduled on August 10, 2022, at 3:00 PM.
The Bolts will try to even the series after getting stopped in Game 3 while the Beermen wanted to have full control by snagging a 3-1 advantage in their best-of-seven showdown.
Stopping a team that has a “Kraken” strength inside the post plus you add a shifty guard with a good touch from the three-point area seems like you have the perfect ingredient to take home the championship trophy. That’s how the Beermen featured themselves at least in Game 3 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup – Semis as both June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez went berserk.
San Miguel’s tactic early in the game was to play Fajardo as their decoy to confuse Meralco’s defense. Each time the six-time PBA Most Valuable Player received the ball in the post, the Bolts’ attention was on him and that gives his teammates open looks, particularly from the three-point area. One of the beneficiaries of that clever strategy was CJ Perez who was able to deliver 26 points and 12 of those are connections from downtown.
“Pasa-pasa muna ako at hinayaan ko muna umiskor teammates ko. Sa second half, nakakuha na ako ng bola sa teammates ko at saka offensive rebounds,” said Fajardo.
In the second half, Fajardo went to his business as usual mode and was almost unstoppable inside the paint. That’s after Meralco made their adjustment in order to shut down SMB’s outside gunners. The Bolts threw not only double-team but triple-team defense. Despite of that challenge, the Cebuano gentle giant delivered a double-double performance with his 21 points and 16 rebounds.
“Hindi kayang talunin ang tatlong defenders. Kaya gaya nang sabi ni June Mar, nag-decoy siya muna,” said Beermen’s head coach Leo Austria.
“Down but not out,” could be the mantra for Meralco as they enter their fourth schedule with San Miguel. Bolt’s head coach Norman Black believes that they can turn the tides in their favor and their semi-finals date with the former All-Filipino Cup champ will be a long one. With no injury concerns in their roster, coach Black thinks that they have a good chance of beating San Miguel.
“We didn’t have any injuries (after the third game) so we’ll be back,” said Black. “It’s not over yet. It’s just three games; it’s a best-of-seven series so as long as we don’t have any injuries to key players, we’ll be ready to play Game 4.”