MANILA – San Miguel Beermen showed its steadiness in the fourth period to defeat Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 87-81, in the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Down 69-70 midway in the fourth quarter, the Beermen went on a massive 12-4 blast behind June Mar Fajardo, Moala Tautuaa and Ilonggo Jericho Cruz to build an 81-73 edge.
The Hotshots countered with a 10-2 rally, led by Andy Mark Barroca, to cut the deficit to 81-83 but Cruz increased the lead to 84-81 with under a minute left via a split free throw.
Magnolia still had an opportunity to tie the game but Aris Dionisio missed his three-point attempts before the San Miguel Beer sealed the win on a free throw by Fajardo and a dunk by Jaymar Perez.
Tautuaa finished the match with conference-high 19 points, while Perez added double-double 15 points and 12 rebounds as the Beermen moved to solo first place in the standings with 3-0.
Fajardo contributed 14 markers, while Cruz, Marcio Lassiter and John Rodney Brondial also hit double-digits in offense with 10 markers apiece for the Beermen.
Barroca had a near triple-double 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while Ian Sangalang and Adrian Wong had 16 and 11 markers, respectively, as the Hotshots dropped to 1-3.
In the first game, Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters finally barged into the win column after three games following a 97-74 domination of Terrafirma Dyip (0-3).
From a close opening quarter, the Fuel Masters unloaded a massive 11-2 scoring run in the second period to build a 32-19 edge. It later grew to its largest at 59-24.
The Dyip made its last push at 63-77 midway in the fourth quarter but five straight points by Perkins and consecutive hits from Javee Mocon and Matthew Wright widened the lead to 90-68.
Perkins finished with 17 points, Wright had double-double 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Mocon and rookie Florencio Serrano had 10 markers each for the Fuel Masters.
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 87 – Tautuaa 19, Perez 15, Fajardo 14, Brondial 10, Lassiter 10, Cruz 10, Ross 6, Enciso 2, Manuel 1, Pessumal 0.
MAGNOLIA 81 – Barroca 25, Sangalang 16, Wong 11, Dionisio 8, Dela Rosa 5, Abueva 4, Jalalon 5, Corpuz 3, Laput 2, Ahanmisi 2, Brill 0, Zaldivar 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 22-25, 35-42, 60-63, 87-81./PN
