San Miguel survived Phoenix Super LPG, 108-104, to end its skid in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Saturday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
The Beermen managed to come out triumphant even after nearly losing a 13-point lead as the Fuel Masters essentially shot themselves on the foot in the endgame, which saw RJ Jazul take an ill-advised trey with eight seconds left.
Score was just 106-104 at that moment in favor of SMB but the veteran guard apparently wanted to go for the lead, only to see his shot hit the back rim.
CJ Perez soon pulled off the finisher through free throws with 1.8 ticks left, and the reigning champions went on to get back on track after twin losses despite missing head coach Leo Austria due to health and safety protocols.
“Starting this game today, we just have to think of it as a knockout game because every win now is a big factor and it will bring us up to the standings,” said lead assistant Jorge Gallent as his side is now at No. 8.
“Every game now will be a knockout game for us. We just got to play 48 minutes of San Miguel basketball,” the seasoned mentor added.
Simon Enciso led the way with 20 points and seven rebounds. Devon Scott did a little bit of everything and finished with 18 points, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block, while Perez supplied 16 points.
Marcio Lassiter made 14 points on four three-pointers, as Mo Tautuaa added 12 markers, five boards, and five dimes in the balanced attack.
“It was a team effort. Everybody stepped up and I can’t take all the credit, but everybody pretty much played to their best ability, they gave it their all when they were out there. Fortunately, we got the dub,” said Enciso.
The match was supposed to be June Mar Fajardo’s first game back since undergoing throat surgery last month but the six-time MVP didn’t play.
Phoenix, meanwhile, was led by Javee Mocon with 18 points and seven rebounds in its third loss in a row after winning five consecutive.
Tyler Tio and Encho Serrano had 14 points apiece while Jason Perkins provided 13, nine of which he made in consecutive fashion to give his side a 92-90 lead with 7:22 left in the fourth quarter that set up the tight exchange.
It was Tio and Mocon who took the cudgels after Perkins’ heater run, with the young sniper cutting the lead to just a point, 105-104 with 48.8 seconds left to play — only for Lady Luck to smile on the way of the Beermen.
Scott first split his free throw to make it 106-104, then Jazul’s blunder that then paved the way for Perez to the foul line to settle the final count.
Kaleb Wesson finished with 10 points, 13 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals as the Fuel Masters dropped to a 5-6 record.
Both SMB and Phoenix will take turns facing the 1-9 Terrafirma next week, still at the Philsports Arena. The Beermen will battle the Dyip first on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m, and the Fuel Masters on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
The Scores:
San Miguel 108 – Enciso 20, Scott 18, Perez 16, Lassiter 14, Tautuaa 12, Cruz 11, Zamar 6, Manuel 4, Brondial 4, Herndon 3.
Phoenix Super LPG 104 – Mocon 18, Serrano 14, Tio 14, Perkins 13, Anthony 13, Wesson 10, Rios 9, Jazul 9, Camacho 2, Pascual 2, Manganti 0, Garcia 0.
Quarterscores: 32-30, 60-56, 78-72, 108-104.
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The second game of each PBA gameday is live-streamed on SMART Sports.
