Jericho Cruz and CJ Perez delivered their best showings in the PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals to date as San Miguel pummeled TNT, 105-91, for a commanding 3-1 lead, Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
The bruising winger fired 23 points, while the former BPC had 16 on an efficient 6-of-11 shooting from the floor as the tandem bannered their 41-point fourth-quarter explosion toward moving closer to a date with destiny next week.
June Mar Fajardo and Don Trollano were responsible for erasing a 70-69 deficit, but the lead expanded thanks to the aforementioned duo. Cruz hit two treys while Perez nailed a layup to put up an 88-79 lead with 4:07 left to play
The game was never in question as SMB pulled away, leaving the Tropang 5G deflated — so much so that Coach Chot Reyes headed to the dugout with 9.4 seconds left, although he still made it a point to shake hands with their foes.
(C) PBA Images
“I think the biggest impact was our first game. It fuels our grit,” said head coach Leo Austria, referring to that controversial Game 1. “You can see from the players, na talagang in their eyes, makikita mo ‘yung fire. They want to win.”
Fajardo finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds as he helped ensure a double celebration for San Miguel after winning his 12th BPC award.
Trollano supplied 11 points alongside six rebounds and three assists, while Marcio Lassiter added 10 markers, which he earned from beyond the arcs.
The Beermen, all in all, fired a total of 13 threes and went 2-of-5 from four-point distance, leaving Austria all the more pleased with that hot display.
“If you noticed, this is the first time we shot a lot from the three-point area,” he said. “Never nagiging double-figures ‘yan eh, I think that’s one of the keys.”
The Beermen can accomplish the gentleman’s sweep in Game 5 on Wednesday, July 23, 7:30 PM at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
(C) PBA Images
Jordan Heading, meanwhile, had 23 points and five assists to lead TNT, whose Grand Slam hopes are now in peril following another big loss.
Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser finished with identical numbers of 14 points and seven rebounds. Meanwhile, RR Pogoy and Calvin Oftana added 11 each, but their collective effort on offense, unfortunately, wasn’t enough.
The Scores:
San Miguel 105 – Cruz 23, Perez 16, Fajardo 15, Trollano 11, Lassiter 10, Tiongson 8, Ross 7, Teng 6, Tautuaa 4, Calma 3, Brondial 2, Cahilig 0.
TNT 91 – Heading 23, Williams 14, Ganuelas-Rosser 14, Oftana 11, Pogoy 11, Khobuntin 7, Erram 6, Vosotros 3, Nieto 0, Heruela 0.
Quarterscores: 21-23, 45-37, 64-67, 105-91.
