In a match where tempers flared, the San Miguel Beermen came out the better team and downed long-time rivals TNT Katropa, 99-94, to collect their fourth win in five games, Saturday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Beermen, who are coming off a loss to GlobalPort Batang Pier last Wednesday, have hiked up their record to 4-4. The Katropa, on the other hand, have remained on the third spot of the team standings with a 6-3 slate.
“Thankful kami na we were able to survive TNT,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “They know the importance of this game. They want to kick us out because if we are in the playoffs, we will have a chance to win the championship.”
Renaldo Balkman played his best game so far in the 2018 Commissioner’s Cup, scoring almost half of SMB’s points as he unloaded 43 points on 66 percent-shooting clip, on top of 15 rebounds and a game-high six blocks.
“Paulit-ulit niya na sinasabi na, ‘We will win, we will win.’ During the last four minutes, na-sprain pa niya ankle niya. Good thing, magaling yung mga PT namin,” said Austria of his Puerto Rican reinforcement.
Reigning four-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo produced 19 points and six rebounds, while Alex Cabagnot chipped in 13 markers. Chris Ross was all over the place with 12 caroms, seven points, seven dimes, and six steals.
The aforementioned Beermen players were all pivotal in the fourth quarter, when they pulled away from an 83-all tie through a 14-5 scoring spree — capped by Ross’ triple — to establish a 97-88 cushion with 3:09 remaining.
The Katropa still had a fight in them later on as they closed within three, 94-97, with 1:25 left in the game, but a blocked Troy Rosario triple and split freebies from Von Pessumal and Cabagnot were all enough to seal the deal.
Making the win more satisfying for San Miguel is that they were able to do so despite losing top shooter Marcio Lassiter and anchor Arwind Santos as both cagers got ejected from the game following altercations from opposing players.
Lassiter got booted out in the first half after a spat with Terrence Romeo, while Santos saw himself walking into the dugout with 7:36 left after a skirmish with Tony Semerad, which led to penalty two flagrant fouls for the both of them.
Romeo and Semerad were also sent out of the playing court.
“Salute ako sa kanila because they showed na they are out there in the game,” praised Austria of Lassiter and Santos, who each had seven points prior to being kicked out. “Lagi sila makikipag-rambulan for the team.”
Joshua Smith led the Texters with 26 points, 18 rebounds, and five assists. Don Trollano and Roger Pogoy, who is celebrating his 26th birthday today, each dropped 13 markers apiece, with the former adding seven rebounds.
San Miguel will next face the struggling NLEX on June 23, Saturday, 5:00 PM in Calasiao, Pangasinan, while TNT will look to get back on track versus sister team Meralco on June 22, Friday, 7:00 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
San Miguel (99) – Balkman 43, Fajardo 19, Cabagnot 12, Ross 7, Lassiter 7, Santos 7, Pessumal 4, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Lanete 0
TNT (94) – Smith 26, Pogoy 13, Trollano 13, Rosario 8, Williams 8, Castro 7, Semerad 6, Reyes 6, Cruz 3, Romeo 2, Garcia 2, Taha 0
Quarterscores: 33-22, 55-46, 79-72, 99-94
