With new import EJ Anosike riding the bench following a flagrant foul penalty 1 call, San Miguel turned to its locals to get the job done against Meralco.
San Miguel bucked a late surge from Converge, hanging tough for a thrilling 102-95 winning start to their PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup quarterfinal campaign on Thursday, Sept. 26.
June Mar Fajardo had an all-around outing of 25 points, 16 rebounds, three assists, two steals and three blocks for the Beermen.
But San Miguel faced a small hiccup when new import EJ Anosike headed to the bench following a flagrant foul penalty 1 call with 4:02 remaining in the fourth.
The Beermen, then holding a comfortable 15-point lead, 95-80, fell under the attack of the FiberXers, who went on a 12-4 tear.
Converge got to as close as 99-95 after JL Delos Santos’ three-pointer at the break with 57.7 ticks left to play to continue to pose a threat.
Unfortunately, the FiberXers, coming off a four-game win streak, just could not capitalize on that.
“Buti nakuha namin 'yung panalo. 'Yun 'yung importante. After ng dalawang sunod na talo, kailangan naming mag-bounce back,” said Fajardo, whose team dropped its last two games in the elimination round.
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Anosike impressed in his PBA debut as he tallied 28 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while CJ Perez and Kris Rosales scored 11 each.
Meanwhile, reinforcement Jalen Jones paced Converge with 22 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Justin Arana and Schonny Winston submitted 20 and 17 points, respectively.