SAN Miguel Beer came out firing right from the start and dominated Talk N Text, 116-90, in Game 4 of their best-of-seven series in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

Mo Tautuaa stood at the helm of San Miguel’s fiery showing as he scored 25 points on 7-of-9 shooting in 25 minutes.

Terrence Romeo also contributed 16 points, four rebounds and four assists while June Mar Fajardo added a double-double performance with 13 points and 12 rebounds for San Miguel, which led by as much as 25 points at halftime and 30 points at the end of the third period.

Three other players — Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos — also scored in double figures for the Beermen.

Lassiter, the hero in San Miguel’s 98-9_ victory in Game 2, finished with 13 points.

“We’re embarrassed in Game Three and I wasn’t able to get to sleep. At nagkaroon kami ng emosyonal na paguusap,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria, referring to the Beermen’s shattering 98-115 loss to the Tropang Giga last Friday.

“We limited our turnovers this time. Turnovers ang culprit sa dalawang talo namin. Imagine giving away 29 points on turnovers and giving away 27 points on second-chance production,” said Austria.

“In the first three games, we were always playing catch-up. What we wanted in this game was a good start, and we’re able to do that.And we’re so focused on defense. That’s the key, everybody stepped up,’ he added.

Jayson Castro carried the fight with 15 points and four assists for the Tropang Giga, who lost Poy Erram early in the second quarter.

The 6-8 Erram was rushed to a nearby hospital with the game still in progress when he got hurt after being landed upon by a crashing Tautuaa.

The Tropang Giga are already playing minus veteran Kelly Williams.

Glenn Khobuntin chipped in 13 points,followed by Mikey Williams with 11 and Troy Rosario with 10.

With the win, San Miguel evened the series at 2-2 with the pivotal Game 5 scheduled on Wednesday, Oct. 13.

It was different in the Magnolia-Meralco semifinal showdown.

Calvin Abueva and Ian Sangalang each finished with a double-double as the Hotshots survived a late rally by the Bolts to register an 81-69 victory and took a 3-1 lead.

Abueva had 17 points and 12 rebounds whule Sangalang had 17 markers and 11 boards for Magnolia, which needs only one win to reach the finals.

“We have to stay focused” said Magnolia coach Chito Victolero.

The scores:

First game
San Miguel (116) — Tautuaa 25, Romeo 16, Fajardo 13, Lassiter 13, Cabagnot 12, Santos 11, Perez 10, Ross 7, Pessumal 4, Zamar 3, Gamalinda 2, Gotladera 0
Talk N Text (90) — Castro 15, Khobuntin 13, M.Williams 11, Rosario 10, Exciminiano 8, Mendoza 6, Heruela 5, Montalbo 4, Alejandro 4, Javier 4, Erram 3, Marcelo 3, Reyes 2, Pogoy 2
Quarterscores: 26-14, 57-32, 91-61, 116-90.

Second game
Magnolia (81) – Sangalang 17, Abueva 17, Barroca 17, Jalalon 10, Lee 9, Ahanmisi 5, Dionisio 4, Corpuz 1, Reavis 1, Brill 0, Melton 0, De Leon 0, Capobres 0, Dela Rosa 0, Pascual 0.
Meralco (69) – Hugnatan 21, Hodge 13, Newsome 11, Quinto 7, Pinto 6, Belo 3, Pasaol 3, Baclao 3, Maliksi 2, Black 0, Jackson 0, Caram 0, Almazan 0, Jamito 0.
Quarterscores: 23-18, 46-35, 68-50, 81-60.

The results:

No. 1 Talk N Text vs. No. 4 San Miguel Beer.

Resuts:
Game 1 –Talk N Text 89, San Miguel 88.
Game 2 — San Miguel 98, Talk N Text 96.
Game 3 — Talk N Text 115, San Miguel 98.
Game 4 — San Miguel 116, Talk N Text 90.
(Series tied, 2-2).

No. 2 Meralco vs. No. 3 Magnolia.
Game 1 — Magnolia 88, Meralco 79.
Game 2 — Magnolia 92 Meralco 78.
Game 3 — Meralco 91, Magnolia 86.
Game 4 — Magnolia 81, Meralco 69
(Magnolia leads series, 3-1)