The San Miguel Beermen improve to 7-1 and a share of the top spot in the standings, following their fourth straight victory, a 95-69 trouncing of GlobalPort, Tuesday evening at the Araneta Coliseum.
The first quarter saw a trade of baskets between the two belligerents, with the usually defensive-minded Beermen going all out on the offensive. San Miguel eventually closed out the quarter with a 21-17 lead. Things however took a drastic turn in the second quarter. Powered by a hot-shooting Arwind Santos, the Beermen completed a 15-0 run, denying the Batang Pier a single basket for five minutes of play, to take a 25 point lead, 48-23, until a Terrence Romeo lay-in finally broke the GlobalPort cold spell with only 2:15 left on the clock. The Beermen went on to lead by as many as 28 points late in the quarter after doubling the Batang Pier’s own scoring output, 56-28. San Miguel eventually entered halftime with a commanding 56-29 lead, after completing a season-best 16 assists in the first half alone.
The Batang Pier returned to the court looking geared to mount the much needed comeback, starting the third quarter with an 8-3 run and later trimming the lead to twenty, 51-31. But the Beermen managed to quickly stifle any run the Batang Pier hoped to complete, outgunning the two-year old franchise to hold on to another commanding lead at the end of the quarter, 77-52.
The fourth quarter saw the Beermen hold to their lead, firing back for every basket sunk by the Batang Pier. The Beermen led by as many as 29 points, with their reserves continuing to pad the score.
2013 MVP Santos took home Best Player of the Game honors after leading the charge with 19 points and 6 rebounds. The Beermen improve to 7-1, a slate shared with the Alaska Aces, who happen to be the only team to defeat Leo Austria’s squad so far in the conference. GlobalPort meanwhile slides back to below .500 at 4-5.
