Alex Cabagnot showed up with a bad case of tonsillitis, and he was excused right away.

Those who were left turned out to be unready to play either.

Barangay Ginebra battered an off-form San Miguel Beer side, pulling off a 102-76 win to force a
Game Six in their PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal showdown at the Araneta Coliseum Friday
night.

The Kings look to stretch it to a deciding Game Seven Sunday when Cabagnot may still be doubtful starter for the Beermen.

Cabagnot, San Miguel’s ace point guard averaging 14 points, 4.8 assists and 4.5 rebounds in the series, missed Game Six due to a high fever caused by tonsilitis.

"Pinauwi ko na at sabi ko magpagaling. Baka ma-injure ba kung pilitin ko," said San Miguel coach Ato Agustin.

The Beermen groped for form minus Cabagnot, bungling a chance to win the series at 4-1.

“It helped a lot that our players still came out to play though 1-3 down. It also helped a lot
they played without Cabagnot,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“We extended the series to Sunday and hopefully we can extend it another game,” Uichico added.

The Kings pounced on the Beermen’s woeful game, taking the half at 53-35 and keeping commanding spread all the way to the finish.

After falling behind by 30 in the third, the best San Miguel could do was narrow the gap to 14 in
the fourth quarter.

“Walang legs. Di na ka recover sa double-overtime game Wednesday,” rued Agustin.

“Five minutes lang lumaro at naiwan na kami. Masyadong lumaki ang lamang at talagang nahirapan ng bumangon. Towards the end, we just saved our legs for next game,” Agustin added.

“I can guarantee iba na ang ilalaro ng team sa Sunday. Hindi excuse na wala si Alex, but I’m
hoping makabalik na sya sa Game Six.”

“Malaking bagay na wala si Cabagnot. Olsen Racela, Denok Miranda and Paul Artadi play their
minutes but Cabagnot is their closer,” said Uichico.

Mike Cortez led all scorers with 16 points while Enrico Villanueva and Rudy Hatfield came through with double-double numbers as the Kings handed the Beermen their worst loss in two years.

Ginebra sizzled with a 48-percent shooting and outrebounded San Miguel, 63-44.

The Kings converted 56.3 percent of their shots in a hot start allowing them to seize control
early, closing the opening quarter at 26-20.

The Beermen came out flat and, with a poor 31.1-percent shooting, trailed by 18, 35-53, at the
turn.

Enrico Villanueva had a near double-double by the half with 12 points and eight rebounds. (SB)

The scores:

Ginebra 102 - Cortez 16, Villanueva 13, Menk 12, Caguioa 11, Hatfield 11, Wilson 9, Tubid 9, Miller
7, Helterbrand 7, Intal 4, Aquino 3, Wilson J. 0.

San Miguel 76 - Yeo 14, Miranda 12, Salvacion 10, Ildefonso 10, Artadi 8, Hontiveros 8, Washington
5, Seigle 5, Santos 3, Racela 1, Pennisi 0, Pena 0.

Quarters: 26-20, 53-35, 81-56, 102-76