FORMER NBA player Bol Bol got the better of his match up with reigning PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo and led reigning Commissioner’s Cup champion TNT to a wire-to-wire win over San Miguel, 118-92, in their marquee game Saturday night before a huge crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The 7-foot-3 import towered over the 6-foot-10 Fajardo as he finished with a game-high 34 points including 16 in the first half when the Tropang 5G zoomed to a 57-32 lead.
Bol also added 18 rebounds in the Tropang 5G’s second straight win in three outings.
Fajardo added 15 points and 20 rebounds, but was held down to just four points in the first half at the height of TNT’s furious run.
Despite the dominant win, coach Chot Reyes downplayed the outcome of the game that had a playoff atmosphere.
“Basically it’s just because the other team wasn’t complete, they’re missing a lot of players, and now kami naman yung kumpleto,” said Reyes, alluding to the return of Roger Pogoy from a hamstring injury.
Along with Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, Calvin Oftana, Rey Nambatac and Pogoy, Bol set the tone of the match by scoring 10 in the first period as the defending champions posted an early 35-16 lead.
The Beermen never recovered from that slow start, playing catch up for the entire game where they fell by as many as 97-68 in the fourth quarter.
Oftana led the TNT locals with 18 points, Ganuelas-Rosser added 13 and Justin Chua finished with 11.
San Miguel suffered its second loss in three outings and fell to a 1-2 slate for the second straight conference.
Marcus Lee finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds in his final game with San Miguel as replacement import Justin Patton is set to take over in the team’s next game.
The scores
TNT 118 -- Bol 34, Oftana 18, Ganuelas-Rosser 13, Chua 11, Nambatac 7, Galinato 7, Pogoy 5, Nava 5, Heading 4, Castro 4, Aurin 3, Hill 2, Nieto 2, Jalalon 0, Ferrer 0.
San Miguel 92 -- Lee 30, Fajardo 15, Perez 12, Trollano 12, Miller 7, Tiongson 6, Lassiter 4, Tautuaa 2, Brondial 2, Rosales 0, Calma 0, Cahilig 0.
Quarters: 35-16; 57-32; 85-60; 118-92.
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