MANILA – San Miguel Beermen made its way to the semifinals of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup following a wire-to-wire 123-93 domination of Blackwater Bossing in the quarterfinals last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marcio Lassiter and Jaymar Perez top-scored with 18 points apiece, while Ilonggo Jericho Cruz chipped in 17 markers as the Beermen made its way to the semifinal round.
Vic Manuel and Moala Tautuaa contributed 12 markers apiece, while June Mar Fajardo and Simon Enciso ended up with 11 markers each.
The Beermen were scorching to start the game with 24-8 edge behind hits from Perez, Fajardo, Enciso and Lassiter. The barrage continued in the second period behind Cruz to widen the edge to 63-32.
San Miguel Beer continued its avalanche in the second half with outside conversions from Lassiter and Enciso as the lead reached its biggest at 121-83 via a Von Pessumal triple.
Renato Ular tallied double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds. Baser Amer and Barkley Ebona had 13 and 12 markers, respectively, while Mike Ayonayon and James Sena had 11 each for the Bossing.
In the first game, defending champions TNT Tropang Giga reached the semifinals round with a 116-95 rout of Converge FiberXers in the quarterfinals.
TNT surged to a 15-4 start behind early hits from Jeth Troy Rosario and Kelly Williams. The FiberXers rallied to within six but conversions from Jayson Castro gave the Tropang Giga a 30-20 edge.
TNT went on with its run in the second canto behind triples by Bacolodnon Kib Montalbo and Mikey Williams for a 70-42 lead, which later grew to its largest at 33 markers in the fourth quarter.
Mikey top-scored with 26 points, Rosario added 18 markers, while Roger Pogoy, Castro and Kelly Williams contributed 16, 15 and 10, respectively, for the Tropang Giga.
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 123 — Lassiter 18, Perez 18, Cruz 17, Manuel 12, Tautuaa 12, Fajardo 11, Enciso 11, Herndon 9, Brondial 6, Pessumal 5, Zamar 4, Ross 0, Faundo 0, Cañete 0.
BLACKWATER 93 — Ular 15, Amer 13, Eboña 12, Sena 11, Ayonayon 11, Suerte 8, Go 8, Casio 5, Publico 5, McCarthy 3, Dyke 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Melton 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 32-13, 63-32, 94-63, 123-93./PN
