TERRENCE Romeo and Marcio Lassiter were spot-on in leading San Miguel to a 111-102 victory over Barangay Ginebra on Friday night in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup at the Don Honorio Ventura State University gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.
The Beermen made a combined 18 three-pointers in an impressive shooting display to win their second game in a row and climb to a share of second place with Meralco on 5-2 win-loss records.
Romeo scored a game-high 29 points and sealed the win on a four-point play with 1:57 left in the game for a 104-97 lead, dousing cold water on the gallant comeback bid by the never-say-die Gin Kings.
The San Miguel win dropped Ginebra to 3-4 and allowed league-leading TNT to clinch a quarterfinal berth.
Lassiter was just as hot, finishing with 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from three-point distance - each trey like a dagger to the heart of the rallying Gin Kings.
“Since the start of the semi-bubble, we were really preparing for the big games, especially the last two games where we had Talk ‘N Text and Ginebra,” said SMB coach Leo Austria.
Arwind Santos contributed 15 points while CJ Perez had 14 points built around three three-pointers, two of which came in back-to-back fashion that put the Beermen up by 19 points at 44-25.
Lassiter picked it up from there.
With SMB's lead down to five, Lassiter drilled two straight treys to increase the lead to 92-81 with 6:57 remaining.
After a Japeth Aguilar dunk, a potential game-changer that cut the gap to five, Lassiter converted another three to douse Ginebra's momentum.
Romeo took over in the final two minutes, hitting a trey and drawing a foul from Scottie Thompson from the key for a four-point play to keep SMB above water after Barangay Ginebra came within three, 100-97.
LA Tenorio scored 19 points while Christian Standhardinger added 18 points for the Gin Kings, who have yet to come up with back-to-back wins in their title defense.
The scores:
San Miguel 111 – Romeo 29, Lassiter 19, Santos 15, Perez 14, Ross 13, Fajardo 10, Tautuaa 8, Pessumal 3, Gotladera 0.
Barangay Ginebra 102 – Tenorio 19, Standhardinger 18, Pringle 16, J. Aguilar 15, Thompson 13, Caperal 8, Tolentino 8, Mariano 3, Devance 2, Dillinger 0, Ayaay 0.
Quarters: 28-22; 56-48; 82-74; 111-102.
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