ANTIPOLO — San Miguel will head into the PBA Season 50 Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals streaking after sending Phoenix skidding to its second straight loss following a 116-104 victory at the Ynares Center here, Saturday night.
The Beermen pulled away in the fourth quarter after figuring in a see-saw battle with the Fuel Masters in a meeting of playoff-bound teams, with June Mar Fajardo knocking down the dagger triple for the 113-102 lead with 1:43 left.
Coach Leo Austria & Co. would then rake in their third win in a row, finishing the eliminations with a 7-5 record to break, for now, the erstwhile four-way logjam with Phoenix, defending conference champions TNT, and Magnolia.
The win, furthermore, enabled the traditional powerhouse to avoid ending up as the No. 8-seed, and could instead finish between fifth and seventh depending on the results of the preliminary round’s final gameday tomorrow, Sunday.
(C) PBA Images
“We don’t want to get into the quarterfinals in a losing manner,” the champion mentor said. “Because of our standing, we’re really hungry for a win.”
Bennie Boatwright led San Miguel anew with 34 points on 48.3-percent shooting from the field, including five threes, seven rebounds, and five assists.
Jericho Cruz finished with 20 points, five rebounds, and three assists in easily one of his best games in a long while, thus the Player of the Game citation.
Don Trollano made 14 points while CJ Perez added 12 as they carried the load offensively, with Fajardo limited to only seven points, although he iced the game from deep and collected 16 rebounds, three assists, and a block.
Marcio Lassiter and Chris Miller came through with nine points apiece, with Kris Rosales and Rodney Brondial providing significant contributions as well, which left Austria pleased with the kind of attitude he saw from his charges.
(C) PBA Images
“Marami ngang nagsasabi na if we lose, we will face NLEX, at the same time, more or less alam na namin kung sinong kalaban kung natalo kami. But we don’t want to develop that kind of habit, na namimili ka ng kalaban,” he said.
“What I’ve taught the team is to respect the game, and let us be consistent on our winning attitude. Dahil until now naman, hindi mo pa rin alam kung sino ang kalaban mo eh, so bahala na sila; sila na mag-adjust kung sino ang makakalaban nila,” he added.
“But kami, our focus is on the game,” furthered the multiple-time PBA Coach of the Year as he’s clearly concerned about his team and his team only.
Johnathan Williams had 26 points and 13 rebounds for Phoenix, which fell to the eighth spot with a 6-6 card following the loss, but could finish as high as seven.
Kenneth Tuffin backed him up with 18 points and six rebounds. Bryan Santos made 17 while Tony Ynot and Tyler Tio chipped in 11 and 10, respectively, as Coach Charles Tiu had to make do without Ricci Rivero and Jason Perkins.
The Scores:
San Miguel 116 – Boatwright 34, Cruz 20, Trollano 14, Perez 12, Lassiter 9, Miller 9, Fajardo 7, Rosales 6, Brondial 3, Tautuaa 2, Tiongson 0, Ross 0, Cahilig 0, Calma 0.
Phoenix 104 – Williams 26, Tuffin 18, Santos 17, Ynot 11, Tio 10, Daves 6, Nelle 6, Gozum 4, Delos Santos 2, Cullar 2, Ando 2.
Quarterscores: 22-30, 56-51, 85-82, 116-104.
