By MARK REY MONTEJO
San Miguel imposed its will and romped to its eight consecutive win with a 135-115 demolition of Terrafirma to seal its quarterfinal bonus in the PBA Season 50 Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila Wednesday, Dec. 17.
Despite a seven-game winning streak, the Beermen had a dismal first-quarter outing, but good thing they were able to display their true form and virtually phased out the slumping Dyip in the following frames, especially in the fourth where they stretched their lead to 24, 135-111.
With its convincing win, San Miguel has joined Rain or Shine as official beneficiaries of quarters incentives, while Terrafirma concluded its campaign with a nine-game slide for a 1-10 card at 12th spot.
Up next for the Leo Austria-guided crew is Meralco Bolts (6-4) this Friday, Dec. 19, at the same venue.
CJ Perez paced San Miguel with 26 points, six rebounds, one assist, and one steal, while Jericho Cruz, Jeron Teng, and Don Trollano chipped in 17, 15, and 14 points respectively.
June Mar Fajardo finished with a triple-double off 10 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists along with two steals, while Mo Tautuaa and JM Calma combined for 23 points.
Leading Terrafirma offensively were Maverick Ahanmisi and Paolo Hernandez who listed 20 and 19 points, while Jerick Ahanmisi and Mark Sangalang posted 16 and 11 points. Mark Nonoy scored 11 points which all went for naught.
Meanwhile, Converge rediscovered its winning ways after shutting down NLEX with a come-from–behind 107-95 overtime triumph to enter the coveted Top Four race.
As the game went into an extension with 90-all on the scoreboard, the FiberXers restored their strong connection in the extra period where they dropped an 8-0 bomb that was capped by Juan Gómez de Liaño’s four-point shot to give them a 98-90 breakaway over the Road Warriors.
But Justin Arana and Justine Baltazar picked up from where de Liaño’s left off as they formed a lethal 1-2 punch to build enough separation which was too much for NLEX to overcome.
Baltazar tallied a monstrous statline of 25 points, 24 rebounds, four assist, and two blocks, while de Liaño collected a triple-double effort off 20 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists with four steals. Arana, for his part, collected 19 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Converge broke its tie with Magnolia and Meralco as it improved to 7-4 at fourth, while the Robert Bolick-less NLEX, which was powered by Kevin Alas, fell to 6-5 eighth spot.
