ANTIPOLO — San Miguel changed things up in Group A of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup after dealing Converge its first loss of the conference by way of a 128-122 victory at the Ynares Center here on Wednesday night.
The Beermen took control for good in the third through a 41-point eruption, giving them a 102-91 lead entering the final period. They not only chalked up their third win in as many games, but also knocked the opposition from their old spot in the process.
Coming into the match, the FiberXers were sharing the lead with NLEX — both with 3-0 records — until the traditional powerhouse took their place.
Interestingly, SMB will be taking on the Road Warriors next for the group lead this Sunday, July 26, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. The game marks its first meeting against one of its former assistant coaches in Jimmy Alapag, too.
(C) PBA Images
“Hindi lang si Coach Jimmy as a coach. Alam nating fired up ang NLEX kaya 3-0 sila,” said lead assistant Peter Martin of their upcoming foes. “The coaches will talk about it, see what we can do, see their strengths, their weaknesses.”
“Every game for San Miguel is a really tough game, especially without Coach Leo,” he added as their chief mentor, Leo Austria, deals with a health issue.
George King finished with a complete line of 41 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and a block. CJ Perez fired 31 points on a solid 12-of-17 shooting as the potentially explosive tandem spearheaded the attack.
The one-time BPC punctuated their strong third quarter, beating the buzzer with a contested four-pointer off the glass for the 12-point lead.
But the two weren’t the only linchpins of the team’s offense, as the reigning two-time Philippine Cup champions also received plenty from various sources.
Marcio Lassiter rifled in 18 points, 12 of which he produced in just the first half. Don Trollano supplied 11 points, while the league’s only nine-time MVP June Mar Fajardo added 10 and nine boards as the duo led the bench mob.
“We’re trying to preach sa kultura namin, gusto namin ‘yung extra passes,” said Martin of the well-deployed attack, made possible by their 25 assists.
(C) PBA Images
Justin Arana led Converge with 29 points, five rebounds, and four assists in the loss. Justine Baltazar backed him up with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Import Jalen Hudson had 15 points on 16 shots alongside six rebounds and six assists. Alex Stockton made 14 points and seven assists, while Juan Gomez de Liaño and Mikey Williams scored 12 each. Calvin Abueva added a 10-6-7 line.
Now at 3-1, the FiberXers will try to get back on track versus TNT, which got blasted by Titan Ultra earlier, on Tuesday, July 28, at the Big Dome as well.
The Scores:
San Miguel 128 – King 41, Perez 31, Lassiter 18, Trollano 11, Fajardo 10, Brondial 6, Hernandez 6, Ahanmisi 5, Cruz 0, Tautuaa 0.
Converge 122 – Arana 29, Baltazar 16, Hudson 15, Stockton 14, Gomez de Liano 12, Williams 12, Abueva 10, Concepcion 8, Policarpio 6, Garcia 0.
Quarterscores: 30-23, 61-60, 102-91, 128-122.
