June Mar Fajardo made sure to bag two wins in one night as he led San Miguel in tying their PBA Philippine Cup Finals series at two games apiece by way of a 111-101 Game 4 win, Wednesday at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Hours after bagging his 10th BPC award prior to tipoff, the seven-time MVP showed why he deserved the coveted plum as he finished with a season-high 28 points and 13 rebounds for his 13th straight double-double outing.
Fajardo already had 12 points in the first quarter, where the Beermen jumped to a hot 23-9 start as they stayed ahead for the rest of the night.
“Hindi ako ginanahan dahil nanalo ako ng BPC. Kailangan ko talaga i-ano ‘yung sarili ko sa ilalim, kasi pag natalo kami, 3-1, mahirap maka-bounce back sa 3-1,” said the Cebuano star, who shot 9-of-14 from the floor.
(C) PBA Images
His fine play undeniably rubbed off on some of his teammates, with CJ Perez finishing with 22 points, eight rebounds, and six assists.
Marcio Lassiter, on the other hand, fired 18 points on a 4-of-6 clip from beyond the arc as he also had a hand not just in that fiery opening act but in the game’s closing minutes to successfully fend off their gritty opponents.
His trey pushed their lead back to nine points, 97-88, with 4:22 left in the match — and that essentially took the wind out of the Bolts’ sails.
“Nag-step up kami lahat. Kung sino ‘yung pinasok ni coach, nag-step up lahat kaya nakuha namin ‘yung panalo,” Fajardo said.
Aside from the usual suspects, Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel contributed significantly as the two made their returns from injuries worthwhile.
In just seven minutes, Manuel scored eight points and had two rebounds, while Romeo chipped in seven points, including a three-pointer.
(C) PBA Images
“We talked to one another and said that if we trust our teammates and we share the ball, the offense will come. It showed now,” said head coach Jorge Gallent as they had 20 assists against only five turnovers.
Together, they withstood the career-high outing of Chris Newsome, who finished with 40 points alongside six rebounds and four assists to lead the Bolts.
Chris Banchero made 21 points while Cliff Hodge added 17 and 10 but he got fouled out — ditto with rookie big man Brandon Bates.
The series now reduced to a virtual best-of-3, the pivotal Game 5 is on Friday still at the Big Dome, scheduled for a 7:30 tip-off.
The Scores:
San Miguel 111 – Fajardo 28, Perez 22, Lassiter 18, Tautuaa 9, Trollano 8, Manuel 8, Romeo 7, Ross 6, Cruz 5, Brondial 0, Teng 0.
Meralco 101 – Newsome 40, Banchero 21, Hodge 17, Maliksi 9, Quinto 6, Bates 4, Almazan 2, Rios 2, Caram 0, Torres 0.
Quarterscores: 29-22, 51-40, 82-74, 111-101.
