MONTALBAN, Rizal – San Miguel annihilated Titan Ultra, 158-117, on Wednesday night to pick up its fifth straight victory in the PBA 50th Season Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center II.
The Beermen went on a 12-0 run to open the game, put the outcome beyond doubt with a 79-38 lead at halftime, and came close to resetting records for the most lopsided wins on the way to a 5-2 (win-loss) record overall.
So dominant were the Beermen that they nearly erased the previous league record of 55-point winning margin which U/Tex set when it defeated Great Taste, 154-99, on July 12, 1980.
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The reigning all-Filipino champions led by as many as 50 points as Titan Ultra slumped to 2-6.
The five-game winning run is already the longest by any team thus far this conference.
The 158 points scored by San Miguel was also the highest since Swift had 179 in an 18-point victory over Presto on October 18, 1992 when Tony Harris had 98 markers and Al Solis had 30, according to PBA statistics chief Fide Mangonon.
“Lahat sila pumutok tonight,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Cjay Perez had 26 points while shooting 3-of-4 from fours, while Jericho Cruz had 24 points, missing only one of his nine attempts.
June Mar Fajardo even had a triple double, finishing with 12 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists.
With the result of the game already settled, San Miguel also went deep into its bench, but there was no let-up on its part.
“Overall, it’s a team effort especially ‘yung bench namin. Talagang tambak ‘yung first group namin sa second group,” said Austria, referring to the 107 bench points that the Beermen had in the contest.
The Beermen won the game before heading into the FIBA break where Fajardo and Perez will play for Gilas Pilipinas in the World Cup qualifiers.
Von Pessumal had 21 points, Joshua Munzon had 20 points, and Calvin Abueva had 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the hole was just too deep to overcome for the Giant Risers.
The scores:
San Miguel 158 – Perez 26, Cruz 24, Trollano 20, Teng 15, Fajardo 12, Cahilig 11, Tautuaa 10, Rosales 10, Calma 9, Miller 6, Brondial 6, Tiongson 4, Lassiter 3, Mantua 2.
Titan Ultra 117 – Pessumal 21, Munzon 20, Abueva 16, Cuntapay 15, Balanza 10, Ular 10, Dionisio 7, Yu 5, Martinez 5, Barasi 4, Melecio 3, Monje 1, Ambohot 0.
Quarters: 36-24; 79-38; 121-78; 158-117.
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