Beermen book quarters bonus after thorough destruction of laughable Dyip
San Miguel Beer destroyed Terrafirma as expected, 135-115, on Wednesday and the Beermen secured a twice-to-beat edge in the first round of the playoffs of the PBA Philippine Cup after assuring a top-four finish at Ninoy Aquino Stadium in Manila.
With CJ Perez shooting 26 points, Jeron Teng dropping 11 of his 15 in the breakaway second frame and June Mar Fajardo finishing with 10 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his second triple-double of the season, the Beermen were never headed in a matchup against the league’s laughing stock.
The win had the Beermen rising to 8-2, tied with Rain or Shine at the top as the rest of the eliminations will see the rest of the field chasing the last two slots that would give them quarterfinal bonuses.
“That has been our goal since the start of the conference,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said, referring to the quarterfinal privilege. “We still don’t know which team we will be facing (in the quarterfinals), but we will be working hard (to prepare).
“There are a lot of teams out there that are hard to beat,” added the multititled Austria.
Terrafima had some bright moments early, leading 19-8, before Austria’s charges got their acts going in the second quarter.
The loss was the ninth straight in a 1-10 card for Terrafirma, which put its franchise for sale at the end of last season but has so far found no takers.
There were a total of seven players in twin digits for San Miguel, the undeniable all-Filipino force for more of the last decade, with the Beermen to earn top-ranking with a win over Meralco in their last elimination round assignment.
Being No. 1 can happen for San Miguel with a Meralco win and it ends up tied with the idle Elasto Painters. The Beermen have the advantage in a tiebreak after winning their elimination round clash, 111-93.
