In a battle of stacked 2021 PBA Philippine Cup contenders, the San Miguel Beermen prevailed in the clutch against Barangay Ginebra with a 111-102 win at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga on Friday, September 10.
Terrence Romeo continued his strong resurgence from injury with a game-high 29 points, none more important than his huge four-point play with 1:57 left in regulation to give San Miguel a 104-97 gap over Ginebra.
The veteran star scorer then sealed the deal at the very next possession with a quick steal and score for the 9-point lead, 106-97, at the 1:45 mark. He even got fouled again from deep with just 34 ticks left, and drained three more free throws to set the final score.
In a clear testament to San Miguel’s sheer firepower even without injured veteran Alex Cabagnot, five more Beermen followed up Romeo in double-digit scoring, led by Marcio Lassiter’s 19 points built off a 5-of-8 clip from three.
Super sub CJ Perez added 14 markers off the bench, while Chris Ross once again filled up the stat sheet with 13 points, 4 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds.
Every Beerman who scored except for six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo hit at least one three, and San Miguel finished the game with an efficient 18-of-41 shooting from downtown, while Ginebra answered with an 11-of-21 clip.
“I’m so happy we were able to get time to prepare for these last two games [against TNT and Ginebra],” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
“Maybe our loss with Terrafirma served as a wake-up call. We had to wake up, and that’s what happened. We’re lucky because our team is really solid, and in practice, they’re really working hard.”
With the win, the Beermen climbed up to third place in the standings with a 5-2 record, just behind the 5-2 Meralco Bolts, who beat them last July 18 back in Pasig. Meanwhile, the defending conference champion Ginebra slid back to a losing record at 3-4.
LA Tenorio paced the tough loss with a team-best 19 points and a game-high 11 assists. With 10:35 left in the third quarter, the “Gineral” tallied his 3,086th career dime, and surpassed Ginebra assistant coach Olsen Racela for 10th in the PBA all-time assists list.
Christian Standhardinger followed up with 18 markers and 7 rebounds while stat sheet-stuffer Scottie Thompson churned out 13 points, 8 boards, 4 dimes, 3 steals, and 2 blocks.
As a side effect of San Miguel’s win, the league-leading TNT Tropang Giga (7-1) punched their ticket to the conference quarterfinals, a few hours after they walloped the NLEX Road Warriors, 100-85, thanks to rookie Mikey Williams’ 36-point eruption. The Beermen will end the week with another tough match against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Sunday, September 12, 2 pm, while Ginebra will clash with TNT in the next game at 4:35 pm.
The Scores
San Miguel 111 - Romeo 29, Lassiter 19, Santos 15, Perez 14, Ross 13, Fajardo 10, Tautuaa 8, Pessumal 3, Gotladera 0.
Ginebra 102 - Tenorio 19, Standhardinger 18, Pringle 16, Aguilar 15, Thompson 13, Caperal 8, Tolentino 8, Mariano 3, Devance 2, Dillinger 0, Ayaay 0.
Quarters: 28-22, 56-48, 82-74, 111-102.