PBA Cup Finals 2015: San Miguel Beermen vs. Alaska Aces Results for Game 4

San Miguel Beermen revived their 2015 PBA Cup hopes on Wednesday, thanks to an 88-70 victory over the Alaska Aces, bringing the series level at two wins apiece.

PBA Online confirmed the win for San Miguel, for whom 32-year-old Alex Cabagnot featured as one of the Beermen's star performers: 

Having been beaten 78-70 in Sunday's third fixture of the series, the Beermen were evidently more eager to show initiative from the first whistle in Game 4, but more importantly hold on once that lead was established.

In Games 1 and 3, Leo Austria's side held leads of 18 points or more at one point or another, but showed complacency on both occasions and succumbed to defeat. Wednesday's display was free of such mistakes.

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Having been named 2015's Best Player of the Conference earlier on Wednesday, per GMA News, June Mar Fajardo unsurprisingly figured from the beginning as one of the Beermen's key components.

The center was essential in drawing early fouls and went head-to-head with Aces star Sonny Thoss, who was hoping to have his own tide-turning impact for the then-series leaders.

It wouldn't be the case, though, as San Miguel unleashed a 33-point haul in the opening quarter, more than doubling the 16 points their foes managed to accumulate by that point.

After Game 3, Austria was quoted by ABS-CBN News, explaining their previous mistakes, saying it wouldn't happen again:

"We panicked. It’s a long series and we’re capable of winning. The potential is there, it’s up to us. All I could do was just to remind them what to do and I kept telling them, reminding them about our press break, our rebounding."

It was a game in direct contrast to a low-scoring Game 3, and while the Beermen may have made themselves more susceptible to the counter, it was clear the trailing outfit only had victory on their mind.

As Jane Bracher of Rappler.com attested, this was a test in consistency for San Miguel, who could have rightly held a three-game lead at this point, were it not for mistakes earlier in the series:

That dominant streak showed in the Beermen's half-time lead, putting Fajardo and Co. in prime position to take their second victory:

Team captain Arwind Santos also began to pull strings with more confidence as the fixture ran on, sinking several key three-pointers to put the Aces out of sight.

It's just as well the lead figure did so from open play, too, having found that his free-throw form wasn't at its most accurate in Game 4, missing several of those opportunities.

In light of this recent setback, Aces coach Alex Compton insists his team are still the dark horses, per Richard Dy of Spin.ph:

Despite the huge scoreline, it was defence that proved to be San Miguel's greatest ally. The ability to tie up back-to-back points ensured Alaska were always at arm's length, despite the long-range efforts of the Aces' Dondon Hontiveros.

He put some threes on the board, but as the need for bigger scores increased, so too did the Beermen's grip on the fixture and ability to restrict their opponents' chances.

As a result, San Miguel claim an 18-point victory, the largest winning margin of any match in the series thus far, and discover a vicious streak they'll be looking to uphold in the remaining three games.