What was expected by many to be a grindout affair between two PBA Philippine Cup favorites turned out to be a snoozefest instead as San Miguel rolled past Ginebra, 104-93, on Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen never gave the Kings any sort of momentum, jumping out to a 22-6 lead as they dictated the pace all the way through toward getting back on track after that sorry loss to Mark Barroca and Magnolia on Holy Wednesday.
“That’s the lesson we’ve learned because we were leading by 14 points in a certain period of time and we have a tendency to relax,” reflected head coach Leo Austria, referring to their meltdown against the Hotshots.
“Actually not only against Magnolia, but in the last three games, when we’re leading, we have a tendency to relax. I think because of those reminders, we wanted to have the killer instinct,” the champion mentor added.
(C) PBA Images
CJ Perez top-scored for SMB with 23 points, six rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block as the one-time BPC submitted a full line.
He went 2-of-4 from the four-point line as well, one of which he nailed as a prelude to a personal 7-0 run to thwart the Barangay after the latter cut the gap to 12, 87-75, behind Nards Pinto with nine minutes left in the fourth.
“CJ hit some really timely four-point shots that really crushed any kind of uprising we were trying to make — twice,” said Coach Tim Cone as Perez hit his first four during the third canto when they got to within 13, 73-60.
Don Trollano was solid as well with 19 points, 11 of which he made in the first half. June Mar Fajardo came through with 18 points and 12 rebounds,
Jericho Cruz supplied 11 points while Juami Tiongson and Marcio Lassiter chipped in 10 markers apiece for San Miguel, which hiked its card to 3-1.
The dominant W should give the Beermen sky-high morale entering another rivalry affair against TNT on May 4, Sunday, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
“We cannot afford to lose against Ginebra so that we cannot lose our confidence against Talk N Text,” offered Austria. “Although Talk N Text lost to NLEX, they are a champion team, and they know how to win.”
(C) PBA Images
Troy Rosario, meanwhile, finished with 24 points and eight rebounds to lead GInebra in the loss that saw the crew trail by as many as 23 points.
Stephen Holt and Jamie Malonzo had 16 points each. Scottie Thompson tallied a 14-6-6 line while Japeth Aguilar added 12 as the crowd darlings failed to sustain their winning ways after a solid conference opener versus Terrafirma.
Now at 1-1, Cone & Co. are looking to bounce back immediately when they take on the skidding NorthPort (1-2) on April 30, Wednesday, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig in a rematch of the last Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
The Scores:
San Miguel 104 – Perez 23, Trollano 19, Fajardo 18, Cruz 11, Tiongson 10, Lassiter 10, Rosales 8, Calma 4, Teng 1, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0, Tautuaa 0, Ross 0.
Ginebra 93 – Rosario 24, Holt 16, Malonzo 16, Thompson 14, J. Aguilar 12, Abarrientos 6, Pinto 3, Ahanmisi 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0, Adamos 0.
Quarterscores: 25-11, 48-30, 83-65, 104-93.
#WATCH: Coach Leo Austria and CJ Perez share how their big win vs Ginebra fuels San Miguel’s push for a Top 4 finish 🏀
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— Tiebreaker Times (@tiebreakertimes) April 25, 2025
