SAN Miguel and Rain or Shine pulled off huge wins against separate opponents in two thrilling PBA Philippine Cup games on Sunday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The defending champions Beermen survived an endgame scare from TNT Tropang Giga, 91-89, as Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser missed a potential game-winning three at the buzzer.
The Elasto Painters, on the other hand, finally made it to the win column by beating an undermanned Phoenix side, 100-85, behind the hot shooting of rookie Adrian Nocum.
San Miguel now holds solo top spot with a 2-0 slate, while Rain or Shine stopped a four-game losing streak heading to the All-Star break in Bacolod.
Below are five takeaways from the Antipolo twinbill:
1) San Miguel Beer is coming off a long vacation after winning the Commissioner's Cup. In its second game, the Beermen seemed to have fully dusted off the rust by sitting out two of their best players - CJ Perez and Terrence Romeo - in the closing minutes and still winning against TNT. June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross, Don Trollano, and Jericho Cruz, closed the game for SMB. It was a chilling mesage for the rest of the league as San Mig shows why it is favorite to win the next championship.
2) Adrian Nocum continued to make heads turn despite in only his 12th game as a pro. The rookie guard out of Mapua finished with a second season-best of 28 points including 5-of-9 from three point range, while adding seven rebounds and six assists. The 24-year-old freshman scored 13 points in the second quarter and led a crippling 25-12 run at the break. Rain or Shine may have found a gem in Nocum who was picked 24th (second round) overall.
3) Rain or Shine's Beau Belga seems to be aging like fine wine as the 37-year-old turned in a splendid game for the second straight time. Belga teamed up with Nocum in helping Rain or Shine win its first game after five tries. He finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds, three assists while going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. The numbers were a fitting follow up to his 18-7-6 stats line in a 103-97 loss to San Miguel in the previous game. And he did this while playing center in the absence of injured rookies Keith Datu and Luis Villegas.
4) Phoenix missed the steady presence of main man Jason Perkins against Rain or Shine after he suffered a concussion in the team’s prior outing against Terrafirma. Although given the go-signal by doctors to play, the Fuel Masters’ management deemed it best to rest the 6-foot-4 forward. In doing so, the team missed the 21.0-point, 5.0-rebound, and 2.5-assist averages of the former Rookie of the Year. Perkins is the second starter that Phoenix (1-3) lost to injury after Tyler Tio (grade 2 sprained ankle).
5) Thanks in no small measure to Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, TNT showed it can go toe-to-toe with San Miguel Beer. The 6-foot-8 sophomore gave the Tropang Giga a player who may potentially take on the PBA's big men such as June Mar Fajardo and Christian Standhardinger. His presence has also improved TNT’s frontcourt, joining former MVP Kelly Williams, Jewel Ponferada, and rookie Henry Galinato (currently injured with a hyperextended knee).
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