Ailing Beermen roar to third straight victory
ANTIPOLO—San Miguel Beer overcame another stern test that extended its turnaround from a 0-2 start in the PBA Philippine Cup by defeating the upstart Converge squad on Sunday in this city.
Despite sickness and ailments that hounded the Beermen following their trip to Dubai, San Miguel carved out a 96-90 victory over the game FiberXers at Ynares Center for a third straight win to be in the upper half of the standings.
“We respect Converge a lot because they’re a powerhouse team and everyone needed to step up,” said coach Leo Austria, who after spending most of the Middle East sojourn with a bum stomach, dealt with hoarseness in his voice.
June Mar Fajardo had his usual stellar numbers for San Miguel with 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks. But he was somewhat playing a complementary role for the Beermen.
Juami Tiongson dropped all of his 14 points in the fourth quarter that allowed San Miguel to create a huge cushion over Converge, while the second unit came in and made most of their playing time, regardless if it was sparse or heavy minutes.
Kris Rosales picked up where he left off from his role in Dubai with six points and three assists, while Rodney Brondial, Jeron Teng, JM Calma and rookie guard Chris Miller also provided the spark the Beermen needed in taking down the FiberXers.
San Miguel’s defense also limited super rookie Juan Gomez de Liaño to a conference-low eight points on 2-of-10 shooting with four rebounds and six assists, before Converge opted to sit him out in the final minutes of the fourth.
“That was what I was expecting from them because the bench really contributed a lot in the previous game,” said Austria.
The Beermen tied the FiberXers for fifth with the win after hurdling the middle part of a crucial three-game stretch against contenders.
Up next for San Miguel is Magnolia on Friday at the other Ynares Center in Rodriguez, the result of which could solidify its status of completely shaking off the cobwebs of a slow start in its title defense.
CJ Perez added 13 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals for San Miguel.
Fajardo came through yet again after being cleared to play despite an injured toe, while Jericho Cruz played 15 minutes and had six points and two rebounds after being given the go-signal to play at the last minute due to a hamstring injury and being under the weather.
Schonny Winston scored 20 points, Justin Arana had 19 points and 10 rebounds even as Justine Baltazar posted 14 points, 19 rebounds and five steals for the FiberXers in the defeat.
