SAN Miguel weathered a third-quarter Meralco rally to pull off a 110-98 win on Wednesday in the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.
CJ Perez had 29 points, June Mar Fajardo added 28, and the Beermen took the win over the reigning champions after leading by as many as 17 points in the match-up on their way to a 2-0 win-loss record.
Four-pointers by Kurt Reyson and CJ Cansino cut the Bolts’ deficit to three, 77-74, entering the fourth but the Beermen bounced back to take the win in the rematch of last season’s Philippine Cup finals that also served as main event of the PBA’s 50th anniversary game day.
San Miguel has also gained a share of lead with Magnolia on top of the standings, with Meralco dropping to 2-1.
Perez and Fajardo combined for 18 points in the fourth quarter where San Miguel outscored Meralco, 33-24. It was a response of the Beermen after the Bolts had a 36-25 third period and even trailed by just two, 77-75, early in the fourth.
“That was a really scary moment for us,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria on that Meralco comeback. “But because of the experience of the players especially June Mar, they know how to win and how to deal with that kind of situation.”
Aside from the game being held on a special day for the league, Austria reminded also reminded the players about how important the match was to their title inspirations and their redemption bid after missing the playoffs during the Commissioner’s Cup.
“Before the game, I told them na this is a huge game for us. And this is the all-Filipino, we need to redeem ourselves from our last conference. I’m so happy that from start to finish, they didn’t lose their composure and they were able to dictate the ballgame,” said Austria.
Chris Newsome had 27 points, seven assists, and two steals, while Reyson had 14 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the field that included a four in the third quarter.
The scores:
San Miguel 110 – Perez 29, Fajardo 28, Teng 11, Brondial 9, Lassiter 8, Rosales 7, Tiongson 7, Tautuaa 6, Trollano 5, Cahilig 0.
Meralco 98 – Newsome 27, Reyson 14, Jose 12, Black 12, Hodge 10, Cansino 8, Bates 6, Almazan 5, Quinto 4, Rios 0, Caram 0, Torres 0, Pascual 0.
Quarters: 25-21; 52-38; 77-74; 110-98.
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