SAN Miguel kept its unbeaten run going, defeating Phoenix, 116-102, on Sunday in the resumption of the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
CJ Perez paced the Beermen with 32 points in his best scoring performance of the conference so far to lead his team to its third win and the lead in the team standings.
Phoenix suffered its second straight defeat to drop to 1-4.
Jericho Cruz had 17 points, while Terrence Romeo chipped in 16 points, with the two also delivering baskets in the fourth quarter.
June Mar Fajardo added 13 points and 12 rebounds for San Miguel in his first game in a starting role this conference.
The Beermen led by as many as 18 points in the game, but the Fuel Masters were able to make the game competitive in the second half after the deficit decreased to eight points, 104-96.
Three straight baskets by Perez enabled San Miguel to swell the lead again to 110-96 late in the fourth. Perez ended up with 12 points in the fourth quarter.
“As what I told the boys, if our energy will go down, we are giving opportunities for the other teams to come back,” said San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent. “We just have to keep our energy for 48 minutes and not give the other team an opportunity to get that rhythm that we don’t have them to get.”
The Fuel Masters got good production from their second stringers with Jjay Alejandro and rookie Matthew Daves adding 13 points apiece in the defeat.
The scores:
San Miguel 116 – Perez 32, Cruz 17, Romeo 16, Fajardo 13, Trollano 10, Tautuaa 8, Lassiter 6, Brondial 6, Manuel 4, Enciso 3, Teng 1, Ross 0.
Phoenix 102 – Alejandro 13, Daves 13, Mocon 12, Perkins 11, Salado 10, Rivero 10, Tuffin 9, Muyang 6, Jazul 5, Verano 5, Manganti 4, Lalata 2, Camacho 2, Garcia 0.
Quarters: 27-23; 49-45; 86-75; 116-102.
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