SAN Miguel denied Meralco a Top 4 finish in the PBA Philippine Cup with a 113-104 drubbing on Friday night in the penultimate playdate of the eliminations at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
CJ Perez poured 10 of his 24 points right in the opening quarter to set the tone of a match that saw the Beermen lead by as many as 18 points.
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The defending champions also drew a double-double from June Mar Fajardo with his 24 points and 15 rebounds and 21 from Don Trollano as the Beermen formally claimed the No. 1 spot with their ninth straight win for a 9-2 record.
The loss snapped Meralco’s three-game winning streak as it fell to a 6-5 record, preventing the Bolts from earning a twice-to-beat incentive.
“We respect the game. A lot of people will (expect) that we will relax. But this is our preparation going to the quarterfinals,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Sophomore CJ Cansino again led Meralco with 21 points, while the trio of Bong Quinto, Raymund Almazan, and rookie Jeff Comia each had 11.
But the loss cost the Bolts a shot at a twice-to-beat advantage as they now need to win twice in the quarterfinals to advance to the semis.
The scores
San Miguel (113) - Fajardo 24, Perez 24, Trollano 21, Cruz 11, Teng 7, Tiongson 6, Tautuaa 4, Ross 4, Brondial 4, Lassiter 4, Cahilig 2, Mantua 2, Rosales 0.
Meralco (104) - Cansino 21, Quinto 11, Almazan 11, Comia 11, Bates 10, Newsome 9, Black 7, Banchero 7, Reyson 6, Hodge 6, Rios 3, Pascual 2, Maliksi 0.
Quarterscores: 29-25; 49-41; 83-67; 113-104.
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