San Miguel moved one win away from a rare elimination-round sweep by giving the hopeless Blackwater the boot, 124-109, in the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup, Wednesday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Beermen got off to a good start but it wasn’t until the fourth quarter where they pulled away for good for their 10th win in a row by dealing the Bossing their seventh successive defeat — and out of the playoff race.
“Everybody’s hungry to beat us, but we just have to play as a unit, play together, we will be okay. That’s what we did here in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter,” said head coach Jorge Gallent post-game.
Six players finished in double figures in the victory, half of which scored 20-plus. CJ Perez led the way with 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
Don Trollano produced 25 points on a 6-of-7 clip from deep, while June Mar Fajardo delivered a double-double of 21 points and 16 rebounds.
The win not only stretched their winning streak to 12 — that dates back to the Season 48 Philippine Cup — but it also served as the cherry on top of a historic night that saw the franchise retire the jersey no. 29 of Arwind Santos.
(C) PBA Images
“Arwind helped us win championships and the management did a great job retiring his jersey. Arwind really deserves for his jersey to be retired in this franchise,” said Gallent, who has been with SMB since 2011.
“I told them to play for Arwind, let’s not ruin his night by losing today,” he added. “They stepped up. They really played well in the third and fourth quarters.”
Now a win away from only the fifth elimination round sweep in PBA history, San Miguel will look to accomplish as much versus Meralco on Saturday, May 4, at the Batangas City Coliseum. Game time is at 6:15 p.m.
Jaydee Tungcab, James Kwekuteye, and Troy Rosario all had 15 points apiece for Blackwater, who fell to 3-7 following the defeat.
The Bossing will finish their campaign against Phoenix (3-7) in a battle between also-ran teams on Saturday as well at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.
The Scores:
San Miguel 124 – Perez 26, Trollano 25, Fajardo 21, Cruz 14, Romeo 12, Lassiter 11, Brondial 9, Teng 4, Manuel 2, Enciso 0, Tautua’a 0, Malillin 0, Ross 0.
Blackwater 109 – Tungcab 15, Kwekuteye 15, Rosario 15, Hill 13, David 12, Casio 8, Chua 8, Ilagan 7, Suerte 5, Nambatac 5, Guinto 2, Escoto 2, Sena 2, Jopia 0, Yap 0.
Quarterscores: 32-24, 60-53, 88-80, 124-109.
