By REYNALD MAGALLON
Tasked with a big mission, San Miguel Beer clicked from the three-point line and left TNT in tatters, scoring a masterful 114-96 win in Game 6 of their best-of-seven Philippine Cup Finals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 2.
Fighting with their backs against the wall, the Beermen showed sheer determination – the very character they dished out that allowed them to come out unscathed, 7-0, in all of their do-or-die games under coach Leo Austria in the Finals of the Philippine Cup before this game including the historic “Beeracle run” in the 2016.
SMB torched the net with Simon Enciso, CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter drilling treys in a bunch to pull away early as they pounced on the depleted Tropang Giga who were without star guard Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes and Glenn Khobuntin.
Enciso finished with a conference-best output of 20 points, 17 of which he rifled in the second quarter that helped the Beermen establish a 26-point lead, 56-30, with 7:02 to go in the first half.
Lassiter, likewise, buried six triples to finish with 22 while Perez and Mo Tautuaa added 20 and 15 points respectively. June Mar Fajardo didn’t have to carry much of the load for the Beermen, posting just 10 points although he had 12 rebounds and five assists.
“We will not concentrate on one player, especially June Mar. I want everybody to be involved, especially mga shooters namin, and that’s what happened tonight,” said Austria as the Beermen shot 16-of-35 from the three-point line.
RR Pogoy was the lone bright spot for TNT after unloading 31 points. Mikey Williams’ scoring slump also came at the worst time for the Tropa as the prolific scorer could only muster two points on a measly 1-of-13 shooting including a 0-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.
Perez and Lassiter sizzled right from the get-go, knocking in six three-pointers to quickly build a 16-point lead, 40-24, at the end of the first 12 minutes of the contest.
The Tropang Giga, though, gained some momentum heading into the break behind Pogoy who carried the fight for TNT with 18 first-half points to spearhead a 20-7 rally and come within 13, 63-50, at the break.
TNT had its chances in the third frame, cutting the lead down to single digits numerous times but just couldn’t break into the nine-point barrier SMB had put up before the Beermen enjoyed a lead that went to as high as 30 points in the fourth quarter.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 114 – Lassiter 22, Perez 20, Enciso 20, Tautuaa 15, Cruz 11, Fajardo 10, Brondial 6, Manuel 5, Ross 3, Pessumal 2, Canete 0, Herndon 0, Zamar 0, Faundo 0.
TNT 96 – Pogoy 31, Tungcab 12, Rosario 10, Montalbo 8, K.Williams 8, Marcelo 5, Banal 3, Cruz 3, M.Williams 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0.
Quarters: 40-24, 63-50, 92-68, 114-96.
Hot-shooting SMB torches TNT to force sudden-death Game 7
By REYNALD MAGALLON
Tasked with a big mission, San Miguel Beer clicked from the three-point line and left TNT in tatters, scoring a masterful 114-96 win in Game 6 of their best-of-seven Philippine Cup Finals series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Friday, Sept. 2.
Fighting with their backs against the wall, the Beermen showed sheer determination – the very character they dished out that allowed them to come out unscathed, 7-0, in all of their do-or-die games under coach Leo Austria in the Finals of the Philippine Cup before this game including the historic “Beeracle run” in the 2016.
SMB torched the net with Simon Enciso, CJ Perez and Marcio Lassiter drilling treys in a bunch to pull away early as they pounced on the depleted Tropang Giga who were without star guard Jayson Castro, Ryan Reyes and Glenn Khobuntin.
Enciso finished with a conference-best output of 20 points, 17 of which he rifled in the second quarter that helped the Beermen establish a 26-point lead, 56-30, with 7:02 to go in the first half.
Lassiter, likewise, buried six triples to finish with 22 while Perez and Mo Tautuaa added 20 and 15 points respectively. June Mar Fajardo didn’t have to carry much of the load for the Beermen, posting just 10 points although he had 12 rebounds and five assists.
“We will not concentrate on one player, especially June Mar. I want everybody to be involved, especially mga shooters namin, and that’s what happened tonight,” said Austria as the Beermen shot 16-of-35 from the three-point line.
RR Pogoy was the lone bright spot for TNT after unloading 31 points. Mikey Williams’ scoring slump also came at the worst time for the Tropa as the prolific scorer could only muster two points on a measly 1-of-13 shooting including a 0-of-8 clip from beyond the arc.
Perez and Lassiter sizzled right from the get-go, knocking in six three-pointers to quickly build a 16-point lead, 40-24, at the end of the first 12 minutes of the contest.
The Tropang Giga, though, gained some momentum heading into the break behind Pogoy who carried the fight for TNT with 18 first-half points to spearhead a 20-7 rally and come within 13, 63-50, at the break.
TNT had its chances in the third frame, cutting the lead down to single digits numerous times but just couldn’t break into the nine-point barrier SMB had put up before the Beermen enjoyed a lead that went to as high as 30 points in the fourth quarter.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 114 – Lassiter 22, Perez 20, Enciso 20, Tautuaa 15, Cruz 11, Fajardo 10, Brondial 6, Manuel 5, Ross 3, Pessumal 2, Canete 0, Herndon 0, Zamar 0, Faundo 0.
TNT 96 – Pogoy 31, Tungcab 12, Rosario 10, Montalbo 8, K.Williams 8, Marcelo 5, Banal 3, Cruz 3, M.Williams 2, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Reyes 0.
Quarters: 40-24, 63-50, 92-68, 114-96.
