By REYNALD MAGALLON
San Miguel just thrives in pressure-packed moments.
The Beermen showed much resolve against the gritty Meralco Bolts, hacking out a 100-89 win to book a return trip to the Finals in the 2022 Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Aug. 17.
The series-clinching win enabled SMB to erase the bitter memory of a Game 6 loss when it surrendered a double-digit lead in the final four minutes of the game, this time repelling another comeback bid from a resilient Meralco side behind the timely hits from June Mar Fajardo, Jericho Cruz and Vic Manuel.
That set them up a title showdown against TNT in its first Finals appearance in the all-Filipino conference since completing “five-peat” in 2019.
CJ Perez made up for his crucial missed free throw in Game 6 with a solid all-around game of 18 points, nine assists and four rebounds while Fajardo dropped 29 points and 14 rebounds. Marcio Lassiter chipped in 16 points on three triples while Manuel added 13.
The Beermen’s coast-to-coast win, however, didn’t come without a scare as the Bolts, banking on the same resiliency that allowed them to force the sudden death, unleashed a blazing 17-5 run early in the fourth quarter that cut the lead which went to as high as 23 points in the third frame to just 10, 84-74.
SMB did just enough to prevent Meralco from breaking through the double-digit barrier as Simon Enciso nailed a triple before Fajardo and Manuel scored on back-to-back layups to restore order for the Beermen.
Cliff Hodge paced the Meralco with 23 points and eight boards while Chris Newsome and Aaron Black, after spearheading the Bolts in Game 6, were limited to just 14 and 13 points, respectively.
It was Lassiter who set the table for the wire-to-wire win as he went off with three triples right in the first quarter alone while the Beermen’s defense was all over the Bolts who just couldn’t buy a single basket in the first nine minutes of the game.
SMB took a 26-12 lead at the end of the opening frame and even stretched it to 20, 34-14, early in the second quarter. Meralco then embarked on an 11-0 surge behind the efforts of Black and Cliff Hodge to cut the lead back down to single digits, 34-25.
The Beermen, however, refused to blink and keep a 45-31 advantage at the break before building the biggest lead of the game at 23, 70-43, in the third quarter.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 100 – Fajardo 29, Perez 18, Lassiter 16, Manuel 13, Cruz 12, Tautuaa 7, Enciso 5, Brondial 0.
MERALCO 89 – Hodge 23, Newsome 14, Black 13, Almazan 12, Banchero 8, Hugnatan 8, Quinto 7, Maliksi 4, Pasaol 0, Jose 0, Pascual 0.
Quarters: 26-12, 45-31, 73-54, 100-89.
