SAN Miguel cruised to the semifinals with a runaway 123-93 win over Blackwater on Wednesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen will go up against the winner of the quarterfinal series between Meralco and Barangay Ginebra after the top seeds proved too good for the Bossing.
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Needing only a win to advance to the semifinals, the Beermen, now at full strength after a couple of players and even coaches were played under the league’s health protocols, started strong and led by as many as 39 points.
The loss was Blackwater’s sixth straight after becoming one of the feel-good stories of the conference on the back of a 5-1 win-loss start.
Marcio Lassiter and CJ Perez had 18 points apiece, while comebacking Jericho Cruz added 17 points for SMB.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria was grateful to see the team dig in during his absence.
“’Yung 10-day break, it worked a lot for us especially since we were recuperating from injuries, illnesses, and health protocols including me, I’ve been away for 12 days. Fortunately, we had a lot of time to recover,” said Austria.
Seven SMB players scored in double figures with Mo Tautuaa registering 12 points and nine rebounds, and June Mar Fajardo tallying 11 points and 10 rebounds. Rodney Brondial hauled down 15 rebounds, while the comebacking Chris Ross dished out 12 assists.
Ato Ular had 15 points and 11 rebounds for Blackwater.
The scores:
San Miguel 123 – Lassiter 18, Perez 18, Cruz 17, Tautuaa 12, Manuel 12, Enciso 11, Fajardo 11, Herndon 9, Brondial 6, Pessumal 5, Zamar 4, Canete 0, Ross 0, Faundo 0.
Blackwater 93 – Ular 15, Amer 13, Ebona 12, Sena 11, Ayonayon 11, Suerte 8, Go 8, Casio 5, Publico 5, McCarthy 3, Dyke 2, Melton 0, Escoto 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarters: 32-13; 63-39; 94-63; 123-93.
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