ANTIPOLO – San Miguel fended off an upset bid by Macau, 123-109, on Tuesday at the start of its PBA 50th Season Governors’ Cup campaign at the Ynares Center.
The Beermen played without June Mar Fajardo and head coach Leo Austria, but still had to earn the win after the Giant Pandas had stretches where they took the lead.
But George King didn’t allow his first game in a Beermen uniform to end up with a loss, finishing with 30 points including baskets in a 16-0 run that turned a 61-55 deficit into a 71-61 lead.
Fajardo sat out Tuesday’s game due to an elbow injury, while Austria didn’t show up due to an illness.
READ: Why SMB missed coach Leo, June Mar's services in Govs Cup debut
Rodney Brondial took charge on the glass with Fajardo out, grabbing 25 rebounds to go along with his 10 points.
Brondial even had seven assists, four steals, and one block in the victory where the Beermen eventually led by as many as 18 points after finding their rhythm in the second half where they outscored the Giant Pandas, 70-51.
“We wanted to move the ball. The easiest way to move the ball is kapag nagfa-fastbreak kami,” San Miguel assistant coach Peter Martin said. “Pinagsasamantalahan namin wala pa si June Mar kasi pagdating ni June Mar, babagal kami ng konti pero gusto namin na nandito siya.
“Pero mukhang okay naman ginawa ni Rodney, 25 rebounds. It’s like a regular average day of June Mar. We will take that,” Martin added.
Macau played a lot better than in its first game where the Giant Pandas were routed by NLEX, 114-75, but they still lost despite posting a lead as high as 11, 41-30.
De’Vondre Perry had 25 points, and Damian Chongqui and Kobey Lam each produced 22 points for the Giant Pandas but still fell to 0-2 in Group A.
The scores:
San Miguel 123 – King 30, Perez 21, Cruz 20, Ahanmisi 16, Trollano 11, Brondial 10, Tautuaa 10, Lassiter 5, Ross 0, Hernandez 0, Calma 0, Cahilig 0.
Macau 109 – Perry 25, Chongqui 22, Lam 22, Z. Zhang 10, Chao 9, Liu 8, Cao 8, Li 3, Y. Zhang 2, Zhu 0.
Quarters: 24-30; 53-58; 89-86; 123-109.
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