The San Miguel Beermen are now one step closer to defending their Philippine Cup title. Entering the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat advantage, the champs had no plans of using the benefit. They only needed one game to eliminate the TNT KaTropa, 106-93, at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.
Despite coming in as the top seed, and having won three consecutive All-Filipino titles, the Beermen showed no signs of complacency. Instead, they displayed hunger. They rallied behind June Mar Fajardo to start the game on fire, making 13 of their first 14 attempts from two-point range.
The four-time PBA MVP was unstoppable. By halftime, Fajardo had already scored 22 points. He finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds while shooting an incredibly efficient 15-for-19 from the field.
"It was a collective effort," said Fajardo, diverting attention to his teammates. "It wasn't just me who got the win. Everyone chipped in."
As always, SMB's full attack was felt through the combined contributions of their stars. Marcio Lassiter had 20 points. Chris Ross had 13 and seven assists. Arwind Santos came up big, tallying 15 points, seven rebounds, four steals and four blocks, before getting ejected late in the game.
But the KaTropa gave the Beermen some anxious moments, tying it up at 79 on an Anthony Semerad basket with 7:42 remaining. However, San Miguel answered back with three consecutive threes courtesy of Santos and Brian Heruela.
The game remained close, with both teams exchanging big shots. TNT even found themselves just down by two points, 90-92, with 4:15 to play.
But the Beermen engaged. They made two crucial stops that led to uncontested layups from Santos and Ross. That opened up a 14-3 run that completely left the KaTropa in the Beermen's trail.
The game almost got ugly when a scuffle opened up with 1:20 remaining. Jericho Cruz did not appreciate a bump from Santos and confronted the Beerman. They had to be separated by teammates and referees. Santos was slapped with his second technical foul while Cruz was assessed with a flagrant foul penalty 1 for an elbow to Santos.
Cruz exited the game with three points on 1-for-7 shooting.
Jayson Castro and Troy Rosario tried to lead the way for TNT. They both scored 19 points with the guard adding eight assists. RR Pogoy was crucial in their fight, scoring 12 of his 17 points in the third period. Semerad contributed 16 points.
However, those weren't enough for TNT to hold back elimination.
SMB now awaits the winner of the quarterfinals matchup between Rain or Shine and Ginebra. The Kings, finalists last year, lead that series 1-0 with Game 2 on Wednesday.
BOX SCORES
SAN MIGUEL 106 - Fajardo 35, Lassiter 20, Santos 15, Ross 13, Cabagnot 8, Heruela 5, Ganuelas-Rosser 4, De Ocampo 3, Pessumal 2, Espinas 1.
TALK N' TEXT 93 - Castro 19, Rosario 19, Pogoy 17, A. Semerad 16, Williams 15, Cruz 3, Torres 2, Garcia 2, Tautuaa 0, Paredes 0, Carey 0, Reyes 0.
Quarters: 31-23, 52-44, 77-72, 106-93.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
- San Miguel advances to the semifinals for the seventh straight conference. They have now made the semis for the eighth time in the last 10 conferences.
- According to PBA statistician Fidel Mangonon, San Miguel is now 16-1 in the playoffs whenever they hold a twice-to-beat advantage. As for TNT, this was the first time that they fell into the disadvantage since the 2002 Commissioner's Cup, when they upset the Sta. Lucia Realtors.