SMB SCORES HUGE COMEBACK, SHARE LEAD WITH BRGY GINEBRA

The San Miguel Beermen (SMB) grabbed its fourth win after five outings to share the lead with Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Philippine Cup resumption at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo Sunday, June 27, 2022.

Both teams are currently tied on the leaderboard with a four-win, one-loss (4-1) card.

San Miguel Beermen (SMB)

The Beermen came back strong from a heartbreaking 72-75 loss to Barangay Ginebra on June 24 by demolishing Converge, 111-92. Last Friday’s loss snapped the Beermen’s three-game winning streak.

San Miguel coach Leo Austria said, “We motivated ourselves right after that loss.” And the motivation to bounce back was enough driving force for them to pull off the rousing win over the newbie team that lacked its key players.

Jericho Cruz top scorer for the Beermen, drilling in 22 points, as Moala Tautuaa chipped in 19 points with 10 rebounds and June Mar Fajardo had 18 points on top of his 16 rebounds.

Their teammate, CJ Perez pulled off a surprise with his career first triple-double performance (15 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists).

Coach Austria cited Perez for his impressive showing in the game, saying that issuing assists is a sign of his maturity considering that he is known as a scorer and a rebounder.

Perez, for his part, lauded his teammates for their willingness to step up and their coaches for their trust and solid preparation.

“Sabi nila coach, kailangan may killer instinct para sa panalo na pwede namin dalhin next game (Our coaches said we needed to have that killer instinct to win that we can bring into the next game),” Perez said.

The Beermen redeemed themselves with valuable contributions from Marcio Lassiter who buried three triples of his total 12 markers and Michael Canete who accounted for 10 points, two rebounds and two assists.

And the Converge team, missing the services of key players Jeron Teng, Terrence Romeo, Chris Ross and Vic Manuel, could not just get its act together as the Beermen unleashed too much firepower, sending Converge to its fourth defeat in six games. The latter dropped to 2-4 in the current team standings.

TNT Tropang Giga

Meanwhile, Mikey Williams exploded with 27 points to lift the undermanned TNT Tropang Giga to an 87-72 victory over the Phoenix Super LPG in an earlier game. TNT improved to a 5-2 card while Phoenix Super LPG continues to struggle at 2-4.

Williams, who also issued seven assists and grabbed six rebounds and two steals, said he’s getting back in shape every game.

“I’m just trying to continue working to get them back. I know it’s not gonna be easy, but I feel I’m in great shape but I may not look like it yet,” he was quoted as saying.

Roger Pogoy poured in 20 points for TNT whose players Troy Rosario, Ryan Reyes and Frederick Tungcab (knee) and Kib Montalbo (groin strain) were sidelined due to injuries.

Sean Anthony and rookie Tyler Tio led the charge for Phoenix. Anthony canned 13 points and took 14 rebounds while Tio also made 13 markers. Javee Mocon also dished out 12 on top of his 10 rebounds.

Box Score:

San Miguel 111 – Cruz 22, Tautuaa 19, Fajardo 18, Perez 15, Lassiter 12, Canate 10, Zamar 9, Enciso 4, Brondial 2, Pessumal 0, Herndon 0, Faundo 0.

Converge 92 – Bulanadi 22, DiGregorio 21, Hill 15, Ahanmisi 10, Murrell 10, Arana 4, Racal 4, Adamos 2, Tolomia 2, Stockton 2, Ilagan 0, Tratter 0, Browne 0, Lojera 0.

TNT 87 – M.Williams 27, Pogoy 20, Khobuntin 9, Erram 8, Castro 8, Alejandro 7, Banal 3, K.Williams 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 2, Heruela 1, Cruz 0.

Phoenix 72 – Tio 13, Anthony 13, Mocon 12, Jazul 11, Melecio 6, Manganti 5, Muyang 3, Wright 3, Lalata 2, Garcia 2, Pascual 2, Rios 0.