By MARK REY MONTEJO
Don Trollano and Jericho Cruz hit key baskets down the stretch to lift San Miguel Beer past Barangay Ginebra, 95-92, and remain unbeaten in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, April 5, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Both coming off the bench, Trollano scored five of his 15 points in the waning minutes, including a triple that gave them a 93-86 lead, while Cruz, who put up eight, went for layup with 44.8 seconds left to make it 95-91 as the Beermen held their ground until the final seconds to seal their fourth win and keep the solo lead in the conference.
CJ Perez starred offensively with 18 points that went with four rebounds and 10 assists while Mo Tautuaa chipped in 12. Also contributing from the bench were June Mar Fajardo and Terrence Romeo who scored 14 and 11, respectively.
Japeth Aguilar paced the Kings with 17 points, while Jamie Malonzo and Christian Standhardinger added 14 apiece in a losing effort.
Thanks to a balanced offense, SMB rode the momentum for a 33-16 advantage in the opening frame.
Ginebra suddenly regained consciousness and capitalized on Fajardo early foul trouble, with Malonzo, Standhardinger and Stanley Pringle joining hands to trim the gap to just six, 50-56.
In the third quarter, Maverick Ahanmisi, who posted 16 points and 10 rebounds, was called for a flagrant foul which was a major blow for the Kings side that is missing injured star guard Scottie Thompson.
With Ahanmisi out, the Beermen launched a 10-3 run that hiked their lead to 82-66 heading into the payoff period
Ginebra tried to rally back courtesy of Aguilar and LA Tenorio, but their efforts were just a little too late to overcome SMB.
The Kings slipped to 3-2.
