SAN Miguel notched its first win in the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, beating Meralco, 93-83, on Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Ivan Aska had 27 points and 13 rebounds to carry the Beermen, who protected the lead they held since a 7-0 start to the contest.
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San Miguel evened its record to 1-1 after opening the conference with an overtime defeat to NLEX last Wednesday.
June Mar Fajardo had 17 points and 15 rebounds, while CJ Perez added 16 points in a game that also saw rookie Kyt Jimenez, the 76th overall pick in the recent draft, make his PBA debut.
SMB led by as many as 21 points and held on to the end even after Meralco made the game a little more interesting in the fourth quarter.
Meralco suffered its first loss after winning its first two games.
“We knew Meralco is a good offensive rebounding team. We motivated them to just bring the rebounds for us to win the ballgame. I guess it worked. I’m really happy that the team did their job by that scenario,” said SMB coach Jorge Gallent.
San Miguel took a 51-30 lead, but was only up, 66-62, at the end of the third.
Aska hit back-to-back jumpers to open the fourth to maintain the lead. Chris Ross had 10 points and finally closed the game with a five-point swing to up the advantage to 90-81.
Chris Newsome had 22 points, while Su Braimoh had 15 points and 12 rebounds, but his scoring output was a far cry from his 37-point average over the past two games.
The scores:
San Miguel 93 – Aska 27, Fajardo 17, Perez 16, Ross 10, Romeo 9, Tautuaa 7, Enciso 5, Jimenez 2, Bulanadi 0.
Meralco 83 – Newsome 22, Braimoh 15, Almazan 11, Hodge 10, Bates 6, Dario 5, Quinto 5, Caram 4, Rios 3, Jackson 2, Pasaol 0.
Quarters: 29-20; 55-43; 66-62; 93-83.
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