MANILA – San Miguel Beermen made sure there are no meltdowns as it cruised to a 92-77 victory over Magnolia Hotshots in Game 2 of the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven Finals last night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
After its 21-point lead got whittled down 68-75, Beermen made huge conversions from Arwind Santos, June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter to overtake the opponent 85-68.
Hotshots tried to make a run after a triple from Paul Lee but Beermen went for the finishing touches on hits from Santos and Alex Cabagnot to increase the lead back to 15 points.
Santos led the way with 24 points, including six 3-point conversions, while Lassiter and Cabagnot chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively, for Beermen, which leveled the series 1-1.
Fajardo struggled all-game long to finish with double-double 12 points and 13 rebounds while Brian Heruela contributed 10 markers for the three-time defending Philippine Cup champion.
San Miguel was all business since the opening frame, making outside conversions from Santos, Lassiter, Cabagnot and Heruela to build a 48-35 lead at the half.
It was still able to build its largest lead in the game 71-50 following free throws from John Billy Mamaril but Hotshots went on another strong run in the fourth from Jio Jalalon and Kyle Pascual to come to as close as 68-75.
Andy Mark Barroca top-scored with 18 points while Paul Lee and Ian Sangalang contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively, for Hotshots, which failed to sustain its 105-103 Game 1 victory on Friday./PN
