Terrence Romeo was back to his old self as San Miguel snapped the six-game winning streak of Phoenix Super LPG, 117-96, in the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup, Monday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The three-time scoring king finished with 22 points, including 13 in the fourth quarter alone as he spearheaded the Beermen’s breakaway towards formalizing their entry into the quarterfinals by chalking up win no. 6 of the conference.
SMB (6-3) has also fanned its hopes of a top four finish as it remained at fourth in the standings behind Magnolia, the Fuel Masters, and Meralco.
“Before the start of the conference, our goal was to get to the Top Four and I think we’re closing in on that,” said head coach Jorge Gallent.
Bennie Boatwright Jr. made quite an impression in his debut as he top-scored in the triumph with 26 points and 16 rebounds, together with four assists.
CJ Perez had 29 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, while Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano supplied 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Cruz was the one who opened the final period with a bucket that sparked an 8-0 run — capped by a Romeo pullup.– for an 87-80 lead with 9:55 to go.
Crucial was that run as it swung the momentum in their favor. Soon, SMB would get in its usual flow, with Romeo pushing their lead to 106-92 with 3:25 left.
“Credit talaga sa teammates ko kasi everytime na nasa akin ‘yung bola, and tinatry ko na mag-1 on 1 or mag-create, nagko-collapse sila. Every time i-kick out ko kay Marcio, kay CJ, kay Jericho, lahat as in pumapasok,” said Romeo.
Johnathan Williams, on the other hand, had 37 points and 16 rebounds to lead Phoenix in the loss although they remained at no. 2 in the standings (7-2).
RJ Jazul made 14 points. Sean Manganti had 11 while Javee Mocon added 10 for the Fuel Masters, which led by as much as nine, 52-43.
The Scores:
San Miguel 117 – Boatwright 26, Romeo 22, Perez 20, Cruz 15, Trollano 12, Brondial 8, Lassiter 6, Tautuaa 4, Ross 2, Mallilin 2.
Phoenix Super LPG 96 – Williams 37, Jazul 14, Manganti 11, Mocon 10, Tio 6, Rivero 5, Garcia 4, Alejandro 4, Muyang 3, Tuffin 2, Verano 0, Camacho 0, Lalata 0, Daves 0.
Quarterscores: 30-34, 54-58, 79-80, 117-96.
