THIS time around, the defending champion San Miguel Beermen took charge early.
Coming on strong from the three-point range in the second period, the Beermen went on to put away Magnolia, 92-77, in Game 2 of their the best-of-7 PBA Philippine Cup Finals series the Mall of Asia Arena.
Brian Heruela, who scored only 10 points, got things started with one of the period’s five treys that eventually allowed the Beermen to tie the series at 1-all.
He connected from three in the last 8:19, and from there, the Beermen hit four more times, one from Arwind Santos and three from Marcio Lassiter.
When it was done, the Beermen were in control, 39-29.
Santos showed the way with 24 points and eight rebounds, while Lassiter added 16, including three treys in the last 4:21.
In Game 1, Magnolia rallied from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to shock San Miguel, 105-103.
Andy Barroca showed the way for Magnolia with 18 points.
