SAN Miguel sent Meralco packing with a 108-97 victory on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to advance to the semifinals of the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup.
The SMB win assured a new all-Filipino champion will be crowned as Meralco’s title run ended almost a year to the day the Bolts beat the Beermen in six games in the finals.
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The tables turned on Friday as the top-seeded Beermen never trailed in the contest, and held off numerous rallies to put an end to the Bolts' title-retention bid.
June Mar Fajardo tallied 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks, while Juami Tiongson and Don Trollano each had 19 points for the Beermen.
The Beermen dominated the boards with Rodney Brondial and Mo Tautuaa notching double-doubles.
Brondial had 13 points and 12 rebounds, eight on the offensive end, while Tautuaa added 10 points and 11 rebounds for SMB. The two combined for 10 of the Beermen’s 27 points in the final period.
Aside from dethroning Meralco, San Miguel also made it to the semifinals after missing the playoffs in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Ginebra or Converge?
The Beermen will face either Barangay Ginebra or Converge in the semifinals.
“It’s all about pride because we know na in the last all-Filipino, Meralco beat us. We redeemed ourselves from that loss. Last conference, we didn’t get into the quarterfinals. Now, we are in the semifinals. I think it’s a good achievement,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
“But we are preparing for this conference to get all the way to the finals and eventually win the championship, but it’s a long shot,” said Austria.
The Beermen were able to pull away for good on free throws as Cjay Perez and Fajardo combined for a 9-1 run for a 100-82 lead, the biggest in the game.
SMB already had a huge gap, 35-20, at the end of the first quarter, forcing Meralco to play catch-up all game long.
Chris Banchero had 32 points, while Chris Newsome had 23 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists for the Bolts, who ended the eliminations with the eighth-seed in the playoffs.
The scores:
San Miguel 108 – Fajardo 23, Tiongson 19, Trollano 19, Perez 14, Brondial 13, Tautuaa 10, Cruz 5, Lassiter 3, Ross 2, Cahilig 0, Rosales 0.
Meralco 97 – Banchero 32, Newsome 23, Torres 13, Quinto 6, Almazan 6, Hodge 5, Bates 4, Cansino 4, Jose 4, Black 0, Pascual 0, Rios 0.
Quarters: 35-20; 58-44; 81-75; 108-97.
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