It was a weekend to remember — or forget — depending on who you are talking to.
While records were being shattered in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, stunning developments were being recorded in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball wars.
San Miguel Beer inflicted Barangay Ginebra San Miguel its worst beating as a franchise in a ghastly rout that even the most hardcore of pundits had found it hard to accept.
With superstar Justin Brownlee in full throttle, how can his team, Ginebra, absorb a 49-point beating at the hands of the Beermen?
Sibling rivalry has gone this serious?
That losing margin was a record for the Gin Kings — the ugliest ever in decades and, because of that, they might yet lose their lofty tag as the crowd’s sweethearts?
And, if Ginebra coach Tim Cone is still hiding his head in the sand, I can’t blame him: That 49-point defeat was his worst ever, a dent to his rosy record of 25 PBA titles acquired since he started out as an Alaska Milk coach in the ‘80s.
San Miguel did it by firing 30s in three of the four quarters — 37-29-32-33 as against Ginebra’s puny frames of 13-18-27-24.
But another superb mark recorded in the game was from Marcio Lassiter, the dead shot Beerman from afar, who crowned himself the PBA’s new three-point king.
With his third three buried in the first quarter, Lassiter hit 1,251 triples overall, eclipsing the eight-year-old mark by Jimmy Alapag.
And with that, Lassiter proceeded to tow the Beermen to the quarterfinals.
Over at the UAAP backyard, La Salle bamboozled beleaguered Ateneo, 74-61, as the Archers continued to flaunt their vaunted firepower long deemed as more than enough to defend their crown.
It was the Archers’ third straight victory while handing the Blue Eagles their third straight loss for Ateneo’s worst 0-3, win-loss start in a decade.
Earlier, Adamson defeated contentious University of Sto. Tomas, 69-56, forging a 2-1 tie with UST in a mighty bounce back from an 82-52 loss to La Salle.
Meanwhile, University of the Philippines, raring to return to the throne after getting dethroned last year, is at 2-0 after its 77-61 win over Ateneo on Sept. 14. We’ve only just begun, fellas. See you around.