MANILA – San Miguel Beermen leaned on a strong start to wallop NorthPort Batang Pier, 120-100, in the PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.
Jaymar Perez spearheaded the lopsided win with 29 points, while Moala Tautuaa added 15 markers as the Beermen moved closer to a twice-to-beat bonus in the quarterfinals with their 7-0 record.
Marcio Lassiter contributed 14 points, Celedonio Trollano finished with 13 markers, while June Mar Fajardo and Jeron Teng also had double-digit outputs of 12 and 10, respectively, for SMB.
Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent said he instructed his team to have a better start against the Batang Pier to avoid what happened during their game against the Converge FiberXers last Friday where they trailed at the half.
“I just instructed my team to have a strong start because, team like NorthPort, they like to start hard, they like to set the pace,” Gallent said in a post-game interview.
Arvin Tolentino top-scored with 26 points, while Zavier Lucero, Allyn Bulanadi, and Joshua Munzon ended with 10 points apiece as the Batang Pier skidded to a 4-5 record.
Meanwhile, Ian Sangalang recovered from a subpar showing to steer Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots to a 108-102 win over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters over at the Tiaong Convention Center in Quezon.
Sangalang, who was held to five points during Magnolia’s win over the Blackwater Bossing last Wednesday, posted a double-double of 25 points and 12 rebounds as the Hotshots notched their fourth consecutive win for a 6-2 win-loss slate.
Andy Mark Barroca added 18 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, Aris Dionisio tallied 13 points, while Jed Mendoza, Paul Lee, and Joseph Eriobu had 12, 11, and 10 points, respectively, for Magnolia.
Adrian Nocum top-scored with 19 points, Leonard Santillan added 17 markers, while Beau Belga, Gian Mamuyac, and Andrei Caracut ended with 16, 14, and 12 points, respectively, as the Painters saw their four-game winning run snapped to drop to 5-5./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 120 – Perez 29, Tautuaa 15, Lassiter 14, Trollano 13, Fajardo 12, Teng 10, Enciso 9, Brondial 8, Ross 6, Romeo 4, Mallilin 0.
NORTHPORT 100 – Tolentino 26, Lucero 10, Bulanadi 10, Cuntapay 9, Zamar 8, Adamos 4, Flores 4, Amores 4, Rosales 3, Taha 3, Paraiso 3, Yu 2, Chan 2, Navarro 2.
Quarterscores: 36-27, 72-47, 105-71, 120-100.
