I had hoped to write about this sooner, but I’ve got a lot of things on my plate so I’m only able to blog during short breaks at work. Anyway, San Miguel took game 2 last Friday, 95-78, after a monster game by Marc Pingris, but the dying seconds of the blowout game proved costly after Danny Ildefonso tried to go after a heckler, with Pingris holding him back. This led to suspensions for both players for the third game, which Ginebra won, 116-103.

First, Pingris: I noted this briefly in last Friday’s update, but Pingris really is the key to the series. He’s actually the key to this whole San Miguel team, a warrior who provides toughness to complement the Beermen’s array of talented but softcake forwards like Jay Washington and, when healthy, Danny Seigle.

He also provides a huge matchup advantage when playing the small forward spot, because he has enough speed to stay in the perimeter with guards, but he’s so big and strong that he can punish small forwards in the block on the other end. In game 2, he heaped plenty of abuse on JC Intal, which is especially cruel considering that Carla Abellana just broke up with Baby Rocket to concentrate on being Rosalinda, and making out with Geoff Eigenmann.

(And I’m contractually obligated to point out that Ryan “The Genius” Gregorio traded away Pingris for Enrico Villanueva, after Pingris’ performance dropped while he was recovering from a bunch of injuries. The press release was that it was because the team needed a center after Rommel Adducul was diagnosed with cancer, but still. Consider this: Pingris was the Finals MVP when Purefoods won the 2006 Philippine Cup, and in his five conferences with Purefoods, the team made the finals three times – he missed significant time in the two other conferences after breaking his ankle. Purefoods has not made it back to the semifinals of any conference since Pingris left.)

After the jump, Danny I. talk, and why his ass deserved to be suspended. Oh, and Carla Abellana as Rosalinda.