MANILA – San Miguel Beermen moved closer to sweeping the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup eliminations after a 124-109 rout of Blackwater Bossing last night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Jaymar Perez spearheaded the offense with 26 points, while Celedonio Trollano backed him with 25 points, including six three-point conversions.
With the victory, the Beermen stayed on top with a 10-0 win-loss slate.
June Mar Fajardo posted a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds, Ilonggo Jericho Cruz added 14 markers, while Terrence Romeo and Marcio Lassiter ended with 12 and 11 points, respectively, for the defending champions Beermen.
Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent admitted that there is a challenge in defending their All-Filipino Conference crown and maintaining their unbeaten record so far in the eliminations.
The Beermen has a chance to complete an 11-game sweep of the eliminations if it defeats Meralco Bolts during the league’s out-of-town game on Saturday at the Batangas City Coliseum.
“Everybody is hungry to beat us, but we just have to play as a unit and play together and we will be okay,” Gallent said in a post-game interview. “When the ball is moving, we are a good team.”
Holding to a slim 85-80 lead late in the third quarter, the Beermen went on a massive 14-0 scoring run behind Romeo, Trollano, and Perez to establish a 99-80 lead with nine minutes left in the game.
With the Bossing unable to make their shots, the Beermen pulled away for good as they established the biggest lead at 114-90 behind consecutive baskets from Romeo and Trollano.
“When we were committing turnovers (in the third quarter), we gave the Blackwater the opportunity to score transition points,” Gallent said. “We just minimized our turnovers and our forced shots.”
James Kwekuteye, Jeth Troy Rosario, and Frederick Tungcab finished with 15 markers apiece, while Tyrus Hill and Christian David had 13 and 12, respectively, as the Bossing dropped to 3-7./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 124 – Perez 26, Trollano 25, Fajardo 21, Cruz 14, Romeo 12, Lassiter 11, Brondial 9, Teng 4, Manuel 2, Enciso 0, Tautuaa 0, Malillin 0, Ross 0.
BLACKWATER 109 – Tungcab 15, Kwekuteye 15, Rosario 15, Hill 13, David 12, Casio 8, Chua 8, Ilagan 7, Suerte 5, Nambatac 5, Guinto 2, Escoto 2, Sena 2, Jopia 0, Yap 0.
Quarterscores: 32-24, 60-53, 88-80, 124-109.
