Hong Kong Eastern continued to dominate San Miguel.
For the third consecutive game, the defending Hong Kong A1 Division champions overwhelmed the Beermen, securing an 84-74 victory on Wednesday at Philsports Arena in Pasig City.
The win marked Eastern’s third consecutive triumph in the 2024-25 East Asia Super League and their third victory over San Miguel in just 28 days.
Eastern previously defeated San Miguel 71-62 in Wan Chai on December 18, followed by a 99-91 overtime win in the PBA four days later.
This time, Hong Kong set the tone early and never looked back.
The visitors stormed out to an 11-1 start and built a commanding 30-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The trio of Hayden Blankley, Chris McLaughlin, and Cam Clark fueled the early surge, combining for 24 points in the opening period.
San Miguel, however, refused to go down without a fight. Led by Don Trollano and June Mar Fajardo, the Beermen gradually chipped away at the deficit.
A timely tip-in by reigning PBA MVP Fajardo with 2:07 remaining cut the lead to 77-70, putting pressure on Hong Kong.
But Kobey Lam silenced the rally with a clutch three-pointer, followed by tough baskets from Clark and Lam to secure Eastern’s third win in five games.
The victory keeps Hong Kong just half a game behind Taoyuan Pauian for the final spot in the next round.
The two teams are set to clash in Taiwan on February 5.
Clark led Hong Kong with 25 points and eight rebounds, while McLaughlin recorded an impressive 15-point, 17-rebound double-double.
Blankley and Glen Yang contributed 11 points each, and Lam added 10.
San Miguel’s struggles in the tournament continued, as they remained winless despite strong performances from Fajardo and Trollano, who each scored 20 points.
Fajardo also hauled in 13 rebounds in the losing effort.
The Beermen’s imports underwhelmed, with Torren Jones managing just six points on 3-of-7 shooting, while Jabari Narcis went scoreless in six minutes of play.
CJ Perez also had a quiet outing, contributing only five points on 2-of-7 shooting.
San Miguel will wrap up its campaign on February 12 with a trip to Suwon to face JD Cagulangan and the Sonicboom.
The Scores:
HK Eastern 84 – Clark 25, McLaughlin 15, Yang 11, Blankley 11, Lam 10, Cheung 7, Cao 5, Chan 0, Leung 0, Zhu 0, Xu 0, Pok 0.
San Miguel 74 – Fajardo 20, Trollano 20, Tiongson 8, Jones 6, Cruz 6, Perez 5, Tautuaa 4, Teng 4, Cahilig 1, Nava 0, Narcis 0, Rosales 0.
Quarterscores: 30-11, 48-32, 70-50, 84-74.
