MANILA – San Miguel Beermen displayed its true identity in the second half, walloping the Terrafirma Dyip, 110-91, in the do-or-die quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Malate, Manila.
June Mar Fajardo spearheaded the attack with a double-double of 25 points and 22 rebounds, while Terrence Romeo came off-the-bench to provide 19 markers for the top-seed Beermen.
Jaymar Perez chipped in 18 points, eight assists, and six rebounds, Celedonio Trollano also tallied 18 markers, and Jericho Cruz ended with 11 points for the defending champions.
The Beermen will face the winner of the TNT Tropang Giga-Rain or Shine Elasto Painters do-or-die quarterfinal game in a best-of-seven semifinals series beginning later this week.
“Our energy, we pressured them and bring them out of their comfort zone,” said Beermen head coach Jorge Gallent. “Our energy and discipline on defense worked in this game.”
Holding to a slim 45-44 lead at the half, the Beermen turned things around in the third quarter with inside conversions of Fajardo and perimiter hits from Trollano, Cruz and Romeo for a 79-66 lead.
The Beermen continued its onslaught in the final quarter with Fajardo towering over the undersized bigs of the Dyip, and Romeo connecting consecutive baskets as the lead reached as high as 21 points.
“Siguro ang naging key dito is ‘yung execution namin sa second half, ‘yung depensa namin mas tinaasan pa namin, ‘yun ‘yung naging kaibahan sa laro namin nung first half sa second half,” Fajardo said.
Javi Gomez de Liano finished with 23 points, including three outside conversions, while rookie Stephen Holt and Juan Miguel Tiongson ended with 18 markers apiece for the Dyip.
The Dyip stretched the quarterfinals to a winner-take-all game after pulling off a 106-95 stunner against the Beermen in their series-opener on Saturday at the nearby Rizal Memorial Coliseum./PN
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 110 – Fajardo 25, Romeo 19, Perez 18, Trollano 18, Cruz 11, Lassiter 8, Ross 5, Tautuaa 4, Brondial 2, Enciso 0.
TERRAFIRMA 91 – Gomez de Liano 23, Holt 18, Tiongson 18, Cahilig 12, Go 7, Camson 7, Carino 4, Ramos 2, Alolino 0, Mina 0, Sangalang 0.
Quarterscores: 20-25, 45-44, 79-66, 110-91.
