MANILA – San Miguel Beermen turned things around in the endgame to defeat Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots, 85-78, in the 2024-25 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Down 69-74 late in the fourth quarter, Jaymar Perez stepped up for the Beermen with five straight points to tie the score at 74-all, before the Hotshots reclaimed the lead for the last time at 76-74 on a Ricardo Ratliffe attack.
The Beermen responded with back-to-back triples from Marcio Lassiter and another trifecta from Perez for an 83-76 lead. The Hotshots cut the deficit to 78-83 on a basket by Andy Mark Barroca, but SMB sealed the win on two June Mar Fajardo free throws.
Perez paced the Beermen with a near triple-double numbers of 23 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds, while Jabari Narcis posted a double-double of 18 points and 23 boards.
June Mar Fajardo and Juan Miguel Tiongson chipped in an identical 13 markers, while Jericho Cruz delivered 10 points off the bench as the Beermen ended a two-game slide to improve to a 5-4 mark.
Ratliffe finished with a double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds, while Barroca added 13 markers as the Hotshots slipped to a 3-7 win-loss card.
Meanwhile, TNT Tropang Giga leaned on a huge finishing run to defeat Converge FiberXers, 98-96, for their fourth consecutive victory over at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
Down 91-96 with over three minutes left, the Tropang Giga got a layup from Jayson Castro and a three-pointer from Calvin Oftana to tie the score at 96-all with two minutes remaining.
The FiberXers had a chance to regain the lead but Cheikh Diallo missed on two free throw attempts before the Tropang Giga notched the lead for good on a layup by Rondae Hollis-Jefferson.
Hollis-Jefferson finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds, Roger Pogoy added 22 markers, while Rey Nambatac and Oftana had 13 and 12 points, respectively, as the Tropang Giga notched their fourth straight win for a 4-2 win-loss slate./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 85 – Perez 23, Narcis 18, Tiongson 13, Fajardo 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Trollano 0, Cahilig 0.
MAGNOLIA 78 – Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lastimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 4, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0.
Quarterscores: 20-17, 40-29, 60-60, 85-78.
