By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel kept its fiery form and dismantled TNT, 110-95, to extend its winning streak to six in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo on Friday, Dec. 5.
The PBA break hardly cooled down the Beermen as they rode on a huge third quarter flurry to pull away against their last Finals nemesis Tropang 5G and clinch a spot to the quarterfinals.
CJ Perez provided the tip to SMB spear, firing 17 of his conference-high 33 points in the searing third that saw the Beermen outscore the Tropang 5G, 39-14, and take an 82-61 advantage heading into the payoff period.
June Mar Fajardo posted a double-double of 13 points and 17 rebounds just as Don Trollano had 12, Jericho Cruz 11 and Jeron Teng 10 – all of which off the bench.
The Beermen actually trailed by as many as 14 in the second frame after the Tropang 5G went on a shooting spree behind Jordan Heading and Calvin Oftana.
TNT, however, simply found no answer to the huge second half from the defending champions who now tied Rain or Shine, Converge and NLEX atop the standings with similar 6-2 records.
Meanwhile, Juan Gomez de Liano and Alec Stockton formed a dreaded one-two punch as Converge took down Magnolia, 114-97, in their marquee duel.
Gomez de Liano fired 27 points while Stockton unloaded 23 as the FiberXers rode on a blistering second quarter assault to pull away from the Hotshots and get a share of the top spot in the standings.
Converge improved to a 6-2 record to not only keep in step with NLEX and Rain or Shine but more importantly clinch an assured quarterfinals seat.
Holding on to a precarious 78-77 lead heading into the final frame, the FiberXers went on a pivotal 14-5 run to stretch the lead to 92-82 – an advantage which Converge never relinquished until the final horn.
Gomez de Liano also had seven rebounds and five assists to his name while Justine Baltazar chipped in a double-double of 19 points and 14 rebounds to go with two steals and a black.
Justin Arana finished with nine points, eight rebounds and seven assists before going down with what appeared to be an ankle injury late in the fourth while Archie Concepcion and Schonny Winston contributed 11 and 10, respectively.
