Chris McCullough came through in the clutch, lifting San Miguel past Rain or Shine, 111-105, to draw first blood in their 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five semifinal series, Saturday evening at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
The former NBA cager converted a three-point play and then sank a tough lay-up to score the Beermen’s last five points and to repulse the Elasto Painters, who knocked to within a point, 105-106, with 2:27 remaining in the game.
McCullough finished with a game-high 32 points, on top of 14 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a block.
“As I have said before, the team, because of their experience and, you know, yung pride? Ayaw talaga nila magpatalo eh. I’m happy with the way we finished the game,” lauded Beermen head coach Leo Austria.
Christian Standhardinger had his best game of the conference with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting alongside eight rebounds. This, after June Mar Fajardo was held to just nine points on nine attempts and one rebound.
“They’re able to neutralize June Mar in the post by running a lot of ballscreens on top for me to get June Mar out of that floor. But I’m lucky to have a lot of big men like Christian Standhardinger who played really well,” Austria lauded.
Chris Ross had 19 points, five rebounds, and three assists and a steal for SMB. Alex Cabagnot made 12 points and seven assists, as Terrence Romeo chimed in 10 markers, six dimes, two boards, and two steals off the bench.
Import Carl Montgomery had 20 points, 17 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and a block against just one turnover in over 38 minutes of play to lead the Elasto Painters, who actually started the game hot with a 20-7 blitz.
Gabe Norwood had 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting, six rebounds, and four assists in the defeat. Norbert Torres had 13 points spiked by three triples, while Javee Mocon supplied 12 points, eight assists, and six rebounds as well.
The loss spoiled the return of James Yap and Ed Daquioag from injuries. Yap sat out for over a month due to a groin injury, while Daquioag missed the last two games of their quarters series with Blackwater Elite due to a leg injury.
Game Two of the race-to-three series will be on Monday, July 29, 7:00 PM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
The Scores:
San Miguel 111 – McCullough 32, Standhardinger 20, Ross 19, Cabagnot 12, Romeo 10, Fajardo 9, Santos 9, Tubid 0, Pessumal 0, Rosser 0.
Rain or Shine 105 – Montgomery 20, Norwood 16, Torres 13, Mocon 12, Nambatac 12, Belga 7, Ponferada 6, Rosales 5, Yap 5, Daquioag 5, Borboran 4, Alejandro 0.
Quarterscores: 19-27, 46-52, 85-83, 111-105.
