MANILA — A blistering opening salvo from Jaymar Perez proved too much for Barangay Ginebra to overcome as San Miguel Beermen overwhelmed Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 101–88, in Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association Season 50 Philippine Cup semifinals Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, punching their ticket back to the Finals.
Perez delivered a historic first quarter, torching the Gin Kings with 30 points on a flawless 12-of-12 shooting clip as the Beermen raced to a commanding 39–25 lead and seized full control of the closeout game.
San Miguel stretched the cushion to as much as 19 points in the third period before Ginebra mounted a late surge behind Earl Scottie Thompson, trimming the gap to 79–83 and briefly threatening to extend the series.
The Beermen, however, responded with poise and firepower. Celedonio Trollano buried consecutive baskets down the stretch to restore order, swelling San Miguel’s lead to 15 points with just over two minutes left and effectively shutting the door on Ginebra’s comeback bid.
Perez capped his career night with a personal-best 41 points on 17-of-23 shooting, adding three rebounds as San Miguel wrapped up the best-of-seven series, 4–2. Trollano backed him up with 23 points, including 15 in the decisive fourth quarter.
San Miguel advanced despite an uncharacteristically quiet scoring night from June Mar Fajardo, who was limited to four points but hauled down 18 rebounds.
Thompson led Ginebra with 24 points, nine rebounds, and three assists. Norbert Torres chipped in 13 points, while Rhon Jay Abarrientos and Japeth Aguilar finished with 12 and 10, respectively, for the Gin Kings, whose season ended in the semifinals.
With the win, the Beermen set up a Finals rematch against TNT Tropang 5G in a best-of-seven championship series that opens Wednesday, January 21, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 101 – Perez 41, Trollano 23, Ross 8, Tautuaa 8, Fajardo 4, Cruz 4, Brondial 4, Tiongson 3, Lassiter 3, Cahilig 3.
GINEBRA 88 – Thompson 24, Torres 13, Abarrientos 12, J. Aguilar 10, Holt 8, Gray 8, David 5, Rosario 3, Pinto 2, Estil 2, Cu 0, R. Aguilar 0.
Quarterscores: 39–25, 63–47, 79–71, 101–88.
