By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel went off to a fiery start and then turned to CJ Perez to deny any efforts for fightback from Barangay Ginebra to complete a masterful 104-93 victory in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, April 25.
The Beermen pounced on the flat-starting Kings in the opening frame to take control of the contest right on the first half before doing just enough to quickly douse a looming Ginebra comeback in the final frame.
Perez was at the forefront of the attack with 23 points, none bigger than his seven straight points – a four-pointer and a trey – in the final frame to keep Ginebra at bay after it managed to cut the lead down to just 12 points.
Don Trollano had 19 points – 11 of which he poured in the first half where the Beermen immediately established a 21-point lead before settling for an 18-point cushion at the break.
June Mar Fajardo had 18 points and 12 rebounds while Jericho Cruz added 11 and Marcio Lassiter and Juami Tiongson chipped in 10 each.
The Beermen improved to a 3-1 record while handing the Kings their first defeat in two games.
Meanwhile, Blackwater pulled away in the second half and sank NorthPort, 120-98, to barge into the win column.
The Bossing unloaded a blistering 23-6 assault in the third frame to build a sizeable margin which they never relinquished until the final horn to finally pick up the breakthrough win after dropping their first two games
Sedrick Barefield led the attack with 20 points laced with four assists, three rebounds and three steals though he did not have to do it alone after getting plenty of contributions from the rest of the squad.
Christian David fired 19 points while BJ Andrade had his best game in Bossing uniform with 14.
RK Ilagan orchestrated the offense with 17 points and eight assists while Richard Escoto and Troy Malillin had 15 and 10 off the bench.
It was actually a tight affair through the first two frames with NorthPort even holding into a slim 53-51 advantage early in the third quarter.
That was when the Bossing stepped their foot on the gas pedal and unloaded the pivotal run that allowed them to create a 74-59 spread toward the end of the third.
NorthPort showed some semblance of fight but the floodgates thoroughly opened for Blackwater in the final frame, stretching the lead to as many as 27 points.
