MANILA – Jordan Adams was dominant in his San Miguel Beermen return. They scored a 139-127 triumph over Phoenix Fuel Masters in the 2024 PBA Governors’ Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Adams, who was relegated to the reserve list during the Beermen’s previous game against NLEX Road Warriors, caught fire with 49 points and 11 rebounds as SMB stretched their winning streak to three games for a 5-2 win-loss slate.
Holding to a slim 55-53 lead midway through the second quarter, the Beermen leaned on consecutive shots by Adams and June Mar Fajardo to establish a 67-55 advantage at the half.
Adams continued his hot shooting in the third quarter, where he unloader 19 points, as the Beermen stretched the lead to 103-88 en route to a double-digit victory.
“We were really cautious of Phoenix because they have nothing to lose, so I instructed my players to come out, again, full of energy and not think of their record. It might hurt us,” said Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent.
“We have to start with a lot of energy because our role is, we let our defense trigger our offense,” he added. “If we play bad defense then our offense will suffer.”
The Fuel Masters, on the other hand, suffered their seventh defeat in as many matches.
On Thursday night, Shabazz Muhammad knocked down a go-ahead basket as Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots escaped with a 99-98 victory over Terrafirma Dyip.
Down 97-98 after a three-pointer by Dyip rookie Paolo Hernandez, the Hotshots went to Muhammad, who drove past his defenders for an easy inside conversion with eight seconds left in the contest.
The Dyip still had a chance to snatch the victory but Stanley Pringle was foiled by the double-teaming defense of the Hotshots, while Kevin Ferrer’s final heave was way off the mark.
Muhammad top-scored for the Hotshots with 20 points, while Zavier Lucero and Calvin Abueva added 17 and 15 markers, respectively, as the Hotshots moved up to 4-3 in the standings./PN
