Chris McCullough made an excellent first impression for the San Miguel Beermen as he powered his squad to a 109-105 win over the gutsy NLEX Road Warriors, Friday evening at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
McCullough exploded for 47 points in his PBA debut, clearly an emphatic way of telling that he has arrived and is more than ready to fulfill the import chores done before by Charles Rhodes.
“Nagpapasalamat ako dahil panalo pa rin. Despite leading by 28 points we managed to win. But obviously we’re not happy with that win because we let them recover,” said a visibly disappointed SMB head coach Leo Austria.
The Beermen had already built a huge 28-point lead thanks to a 36-point outburst in the third quarter, but they mismanaged the advantage. Worse, McCullough got fouled out of the game still with 2:24 remaining.
That allowed NLEX to come close but luck was on San Miguel’s side as NLEX did not have enough time to pull off a comeback. It only became a four-point game as Jericho Cruz hit a trey with one-tenth of a second left.
Christian Standhardinger made 12 points and seven rebounds, as Marcio Lassiter and Alex Cabagnot chimed in 11 points apiece in the victory that hiked San Miguel’s win-loss record to 3-5, keeping their playoff hopes alive.
The win also served as a fitting welcome to Terrence Romeo, who has returned from an Achilles injury. The former three-time scoring champion played for 15 minutes and finished with six points, four assists, a steal, and a rebound.
Olu Ashaolu had 31 points, 15 rebounds, three rebounds, a steal, and a block to lead NLEX, who have fallen to 2-8.
Juami Tiongson had 14 points, six assists, three rebounds, and a steal for the Road Warriors. Cruz made 11 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three steals, as Poy Erram had 10 markers, eight boards, two dimes, and two blocks.
Both teams will take turns in facing Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters next week. San Miguel will go first on July 10, Wednesday, at SMART Araneta Coliseum, while NLEX will have them on Friday, July 12, at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Scores:
San Miguel 109 – McCullough 47, Standhardinger 12, Lassiter 11, Cabagnot 11, Fajardo 8, Pessumal 8, Romeo 6, Santos 3, Rosser 2, Ross 1.
NLEX 105 – Ashaolu 31, Tiongson 14, Cruz 11, Erram 10, Paniamogan 8, Soyud 7, Quinahan 7, Galanza 5, Rios 4, Varilla 3, Ighalo 3, Lao 2, Taulava 0.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 52-51, 97-69, 109-105
