CJ Perez led six teammates in double-digit scoring as the San Miguel Beermen smothered the Blackwater Elite Bossing, 124-109, Wednesday night in the 48th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig.
Perez knocked in 26 points for the Beermen, who capitalized on a great start and a bigger finish to post their 10th straight win.
Don Trollano drilled in 25 points for the Beermen as they banked on a decisive fourth quarter finish to leave the Bossings behind.
SMB’s unblemished record came on a memorable evening as team management retired the jersey no. 29 of Arwind Santos, who, however, still plans to play as early as the next conference.
Junemar Fajardo made 21 points and 16 rebounds for the Beermen, while Jericho Cruz, Terrence Romeo and Marcio Lassiter sank 17, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Beermen relied on two big scoring blasts to decisively move out of range.
Trollano, who fired 15 points in the last period, led a final 13-0 run which allowed the Beermen to widen a 68-64 lead to 78-66, in the remaining 4:47.
Coach Jorge Gallent said they managed to check on their turnovers in the last canto.
“When we were making turnovers, we were giving Blackwater opportunities to score on those transitions. So, we just have to minimize our turnovers, and minimize our post shots, for us not to easily give away transition points,” said Gallent.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 124 – Perez 26, Trollano 25, Fajardo 21, Cruz 14, Romeo 12, Lassiter 11, Brondial 9, Teng 4, Manuel 2, Enciso 0, Tautuaa0, Malillin 0, Ross 0
BLACKWATER 109 – Tungcab 15, Kwekuteye 15, Rosario 15, Hill 13, David 12, Casio 8, Chua 8, Ilagan 7, Suerte 5, Nambatac 5, Guinto 2, Escoto 2, Sena 2, Jopia 0, Yap 0
QUARTERS: 32-24, 60-53, 88-80, 124-109