SAN Miguel turned up the heat early and routed Magnolia Chicken Timplados, 109-85, on Sunday to grab a 2-0 series lead in the PBA 48th Season Commissioner’s Cup finals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Beermen leaned on their three-point shooting with Bennie Boatwright leading the way with 34 points on 7-of-16 shooting from the perimeter.
SMB combined for 16 treys on its way to a two-game lead in the best-of-seven championship series that will resume on Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel has now won 11 straight games heading to Game Three and remains unbeaten with Boatwright aboard.
Magnolia couldn’t respond to San Miguel’s hot shooting from the outside, nailing just seven in the game.
Tyler Bey also struggled from the field, scoring 22 points but had to earn every point, making just 8-of-22 from the field.
“Of course, we are happy. We played as a team. We played as a unit. Everyone works in practice,” said San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent.
The Beermen built a 31-16 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. San Miguel led by as many as 28 points, 72-44, in the third.
CJ Perez had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists, and five steals, while June Mar Fajardo had 19 points and 14 rebounds, while also draining two threes in the contest.
Magnolia only held the lead early in the game when it was up, 3-2.
The scores:
San Miguel 109 – Boatwright 34, Perez 20, Fajardo 19, Lassiter 11, Cruz 10, Trollano 5, Ross 3, Tautuaa 2, Teng 2, Jimenez 2, Mallilin 1, Romeo 0.
Magnolia 85 – Bey 22, Barroca 11, Escoto 10, Sangalang 8, Jalalon 6, Corpuz 5, Lee 5, Dela Rosa 4, Mendoza 4, Abueva 3, Laput 3, Tratter 2, Eriobu 2, Ahanmisi 0, Dionisio 0.
Quarters: 31-25; 54-41; 79-58; 109-85.
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