ROBBIE Herndon caught fire in the fourth as San Miguel broke away to rout NorthPort, 122-106, on Saturday in the PBA 47th season Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
San Miguel vs NorthPort recap
Herndon played his best game since being acquired during the offseason in a sign-and-trade with Converge, scoring 11 of his career-high-tying 21 points in the final canto to pull away from an 82-82 tie at the end of the third.
With Herndon’s heroics, the Beermen regained leadership in the standings with a 6-1 win-loss record while moving even closer to claim a quarterfinal berth.
San Miguel ruined the milestone of its former player Arwind Santos after he became the 17th player to join the 10,000-point club of the league.
June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and CJ Perez also had their usual numbers but San Miguel’s second-stringers led by Paul Zamar also had key role to the victory.
But the most impactful of them all is Herndon, whose three to start the fourth led the pullaway. He drained two more threes in the 29-8 attack for a 111-90 lead, the biggest of the contest.
“I’m so happy what happened to our game tonight. We were able to give some time to those people from the bench especially Robbie,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Fajardo had 21 points and kept San Miguel in the game after NorthPort took leads during the first three quarters. Lassiter had 18 points, while Perez nearly had a triple-double after tallying 17 points, nine rebounds, and 12 assists.
Zamar was one of the six players in double figures for SMB with 15 points.
Santos had 25 points and reached the 10,000-point club after a fadeaway over Fajardo with 11:20 left in the third period. Roi Sumang had 20 points but NorthPort slumped to 2-5, going down to its fifth consecutive defeat.
NorthPort also missed Robert Bolick after spraining his ankle during their previous game.
The scores:
San Miguel 122 – Herndon 21, Fajardo 21, Lassiter 18, Perez 17, Zamar 15, Cruz 12, Enciso 7, Brondial 6, Faundo 3, Pessumal 2, Canete 0.
NorthPort 106 – Santos 25, Sumang 20, Calma 14, Balanza 12, Malonzo 10, Dela Cruz 8, Ayaay 8, Javier 4, Ferrer 3, Apacible 2, Vigil 0, Subido 0.
Quarters: 25-29; 55-55; 82-82; 122-106.
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