The San Miguel Beermen, champion in the previous conference just a month ago, picked up from where they left off as they drubbed the Rain or Shine Elastopainters to open their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup campaign on Friday, March 15.
San Miguel did everything right in the middle quarters as the Beermen clobbered Rain or Shine, 109-97, to jumpstart their PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup campaign at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Friday, March 15.
Jericho Cruz topscored with 20 for San Miguel, which outgunned the Elasto Painters in the second and third periods, 67-51, en route to the dominant finish that kept its foe winless in four games.
Marcio Lassiter fired 17 points on five three-pointers, while Don Trollano added 16 markers and nine rebounds.
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Terrence Romeo returned from an ankle injury that kept him out of the Commissioner’s Cup finals against Magnolia and ended up with 13 points, three rebounds, six assists and two steals.
The Beermen refused to ease on the gas pedal in the payoff period, with Cruz completing an and-one play that gave the team a comfortable 19-point buffer, 94-75, early in the frame.
Rain or Shine, though, showed some resistance, igniting a 10-2 run that sliced the deficit to 11, 85-96, at the 8:21 mark.
But a quick five-point swing highlighted by June Mar Fajardo’s triple allowed San Miguel to regain steam.
Before they knew it, the Beermen held a 107-97 edge on a tough mid-range jumper by Romeo with a little less than four minutes left on the clock and held on for the opening win.
“Our last four or five practices were really intense. They just brought it to this game today,” said San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent.
Santi Santillan paced the Elastopainters with 31 points and 14 rebounds. Beau Belga and Jhonard Clarito added 18 points apiece.