MANILA – San Miguel Beermen finally tasted a win inside the bubble after a 105-98 triumph over the TerraFirma Dyip in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Moala Tautuaa top-scored with 25 points, Arwind Santos finished with double-double 20 points and 14 rebounds as the defending champions Beermen halted their two-game slide and improved to a 2-2 win-loss slate.
Marcio Lassiter and Von Pessumal also ended with double-figures 18 and 17 markers respectively while Ilonggo Paul Zamar contributed 11 markers.
The Beermen set the tone early as they led 32-24 with conversions from Tautuaa and Lassiter. SMB were still ahead by double figures in the second period, but the Dyip countered with a rally to come to within 51-55 at the half.
SMB went on to build their largest lead at 69-55 in the third period on consecutive points from Tautuaa and a three-pointer by Lassiter, but TerraFirma had another response to come to within 73-75.
The Beermen leaned on their experience in the final quarter as they battled every rally made by the Dyip with key baskets from Pessumal, Zamar and Santos for a 104-93 advantage with over a minute left.
Jaymar Perez finished the match with 20 points, nine rebounds and six assists while Rashawn McCarthy and Juan Miguel Tiongson added 15 and 11 markers respectively as the Dyip suffered its third straight defeat.
In PBA’s first game, TNT Tropang Giga recovered from their first half slump to score a 110-91 victory over erstwhile undefeated Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters and took the solo lead with a 4-0 card.
After being down by as much as 14 points, the Tropang Giga got their shooting going in the third quarter behind Roger Pogoy and John Paul Erram to tie the score at 68-all before surging ahead at 75-68 on hits by Jeth Troy Rosario.
The Tropang Giga continued their run in the fourth quarter with three-point hits from Erram and Pogoy and inside baskets from Parks en route to their largest lead at 107-87 on a layup by Simon Enciso.
Pogoy top-scored with 30 points, including five triples while Erram added double-double 18 points and 15 rebounds for the solo-leader Tropang Giga. Matthew Wright finished the match with 31 points as the Fuel Masters dropped to 2-1.
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 105 – Tautuaa 25, Santos 20, Lassiter 18, Pessumal 17, Zamar 11, Cabagnot 8, Ross 2, Alolino 2, Gamalinda 2, Escoto 0.
TERRAFIRMA 98 – Perez 20, McCarthy 15, Tiongson 11, Ramos 9, Faundo 5, Adams 9, Celda 9, Khobuntin 7, Cahilig 6, Gabayni 5, Camson 2, Calvo 0, Balagasay 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 32-24; Q2, 55-51; Q3, 75-73; Q4, 105-98./PN
