Chris Ross came through in crunch time as San Miguel warded off Meralco in a battle of depleted squads, 93-83, for its first win of the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The playing deputy first nailed an all-important triple before sinking both of his free throws off a Suleiman Braimoh foul.
That pushed their advantage to 10 after the Bolts cut what was once a 21-point lead to just four, 85-81, with 2:15 left to play.
Ross finished with 10 points as his timely buckets enabled the Beermen to pull through – even without Jericho Cruz, Marcio Lassiter, and Jeron Teng.
Furthermore, those conversions allowed the crew to buck the early exit of Terrence Romeo, who suffered an apparent knee injury late in the second.
“When players are injured, the others should step up,” said SMB head coach Jorge Gallent. “I know people that are on the bench can step up.”
Ivan Aska prevented fouling out this time as he finished with a game-high 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead San Miguel, who improved to 1-1.
“Ivan adjusted really well. The team needed an inside presence, that’s why we got him. Despite his first game, as he said, he did not know the calls and everything, but now, imagine after one game, he adjusted,” said Gallent.
June Mar Fajardo delivered 17 points and 15 rebounds for a double-double. CJ Perez made 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
The Beermen finally utilized Kyt Jimenez against Meralco but the rookie wasn’t able to finish his debut game properly after suffering an apparent facial injury. He collided with Cliff Hodge at the 8z;45-mark of the fourth and never returned.
“Unfortunately, he got hurt. But he did quality minutes,” said Gallent as Jimenez had two points, two rebounds, and two steals in 12 minutes off the bench. “Kyt’s an energy guy. He’s good. He brings us energy.”
SMB will now turn its attention on Converge, whom it will face on November 25 in Tiaong, Quezon in the PBA’s first out-of-town game this season.
Chris Newsome, on the other hand, finished with 22 points, three rebounds, and six assists to lead Meralco, who suffered its second loss in four outings.
Raymond Almazan had 11 points, while Hodge supplied 10.
The locals tried to pick it up offensively on a night Braimoh was held to only 15 points – far from his 37.0-point average entering Sunday’s game – and 12 rebounds.
The Bolts will look to rebound against TNT on November 26, 3:00 PM, at the Philsports Arena in a battle of PBA representatives to the EASL.
The Scores:
San Miguel 93 – Aska 27, Fajardo 17, Perez 16, Ross 10, Romeo 9, Tautuaa 7, Enciso 5, Jimenez 2, Bulanadi 0.
Meralco 83 – Newsome 22, Braimoh 15, Almazan 11, Hodge 10, Bates 6, Quinto 5, Dario 5, Caram 4, Rios 3, Jackson 2, Pasaol 0.
Quarterscores: 29-20, 55-43, 66-62, 93-83
