MONTALBAN – San Miguel finally captured its first win in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup, beating Rain or Shine, 111-93, on Sunday at the Ynares Center II.
Cjay Perez, June Mar Fajardo, and Marcio Lassiter led the second-half attack that enabled the Beermen to pull away to their first victory after three matches while dealing the Elasto Painters their first defeat after two games.
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Perez had 23 points, while Lassiter added 18 points including 12 in the third quarter despite sustaining an injury to his nose. Fajardo added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Beermen, who led by as many as 25 points.
The triumvirate scored in a key 10-0 blast to pad San Miguel’s lead to 96-76, more than enough to cushio Rain or Shine’s last-ditch comeback.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria said the team played with a sense of urgency, and didn’t want to go down 0-3 before they head to Dubai for next week’s overseas game against Barangay Ginebra.
“Because of our last three practices, we stepped up on our training to get the energy that we have to have,” said Austria.
Lassiter was a perfect 3-of-3 from threes in the third quarter to help San Miguel gain momentum, with Perez and Fajardo following suit as the Beermen entered the fourth quarter up, 74-65.
Adrian Nocum had 17 points, and Jhonard Clarito added 16 points and nine rebounds, but Caelan Tiongson, the hero in Rain or Shine's win over Meralco , was limited to nine points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field, although he grabbed a team-high 13 points.
Stanley Pringle played his first game in an Elasto Painters uniform, finishing with 11 points and four assists.
The scores:
San Miguel 111 – Perez 23, Lassiter 18, Fajardo 17, Tiongson 11, Trollano 8, Calma 8, Tautuaa 6, Brondial 6, Cruz 5, Rosales 3, Miller 2, Teng 2, Mantua 2, Ross 0.
Rain or Shine 93 – Nocum 17, Clarito 16, Mamuyac 16, Pringle 11, Tiongson 9, Caracut 6, Datu 6, Norwood 4, Asistio 4, Proter 2, Santillan 2, Belga 0.
Quarters: 22-19; 46-34; 74-65; 111-93.
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