By ADRIAN STEWART CO
MANILA — San Miguel Beer unleashed one of the most explosive offensive performances of the PBA Season 50 Governors’ Cup, erupting for 143 points in a 38-point demolition of Titan Ultra Giant Risers, 143-105, on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
After taking only a slim 61-58 halftime lead, the Beermen turned the contest into a rout with a devastating 49-point third quarter highlighted by a blistering 30-5 run orchestrated by import George King, Jerrick Ahanmisi, and Celedonio Trollano. The surge stretched San Miguel’s advantage to 110-81 entering the final period.
The Beermen never eased off the gas, pushing the lead to as much as 34 points en route to their fourth victory in five games and an emphatic rebound from their first defeat of the conference against the NLEX Road Warriors.
King delivered another stellar all-around performance with 35 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, two steals, and two blocks to anchor San Miguel’s explosive attack.
Ahanmisi backed him up with 26 points, including four three-pointers, while Trollano sparked the second unit with 22 points. Veteran Marcio Lassiter also finished in double figures with 13 markers.
Titan Ultra, which dropped to 1-5, drew 25 points from Joshua Munzon. John Bryan Sajonia added 19, Tirell Brown II contributed 15, while Mark Javillonar and Fran Yu chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.
In the second game, the Macau Giant Pandas completed a late comeback to edge Terrafirma Dyip, 96-92, for their second straight victory.
Macau trailed 92-90 after Justin Strings restored Terrafirma’s lead in the closing minutes before finishing the game with a decisive 6-0 run.
De’Vondre Perry and Kobey Lam scored consecutive baskets to put the Giant Pandas ahead before Damian Chongqui iced the win from the free-throw line.
Perry powered Macau with a double-double of 34 points and 14 rebounds as the Giant Pandas improved to 2-4 in the conference. Chongqui added 29 points, while Lam chipped in 12 off the bench. Terrafirma also fell to a 2-4 record./PN
