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San Miguel gives Barangay Ginebra, fresh from a rousing blowout in its PBA Philippine Cup debut, a dose of its own medicine behind the one-two punch of CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo
MANILA, Philippines – It did not take long for San Miguel to send Barangay Ginebra crashing back to earth.
Fresh from a rousing 21-point blowout in their PBA Philippine Cup debut, the Gin Kings were given a dose of their own medicine as the Beermen cruised to a dominant 104-93 win at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, April 25.
The one-two punch of CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo once again delivered for San Miguel, which bounced back from its first loss of the conference and raised its record to 3-1.
“We want to have the killer instinct. We have to develop that because a lot of teams are getting better and better and we know that we are the target of every opponent,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria.
Perez put up 23 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals, while Fajardo posted 18 points and 12 rebounds in the wire-to-wire victory that saw San Miguel build an early 25-11 cushion and enjoy a lead as big as 23 points.
Ginebra momentarily threatened a comeback when it pulled within 75-87 off back-to-back three-pointers from Jamie Malonzo and Nards Pinto before Perez restored order for the Beermen.
Perez cashed in on a three-pointer and a four-pointer in successive plays then added a layup in a 17-6 run that gave San Miguel its biggest lead of the game at 104-81 with over three minutes remaining.
Don Trollano made his presence felt with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting off the bench as six players scored in twin digits for the Beermen.
Jericho Cruz (11 points), Juami Tiongson (10 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals), and Marcio Lassiter (10 points) also figured prominently in the triumph.
“I’m so happy for them because everybody responded and everybody was on the same page,” said Austria.
Troy Rosario tallied 24 points and 8 rebounds to pace the Gin Kings, while Malonzo and Stephen Holt fired 16 points each.
Earlier, Blackwater scored its win of the tournament after a 0-2 start as it ripped NorthPort to shreds in a 120-98 demolition led by rookie guard Sedrick Barefield, who churned out 20 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals.
Christian David netted 19 points and RK Ilagan contributed 17 points and 8 assists in the win, which featured two teams involved in a recent trade that sent James Kwekuteye to the Batang Pier and Abu Tratter to the Bossing.
Tratter had 2 points and 5 rebounds in his return to Blackwater, while Kwekuteye went scoreless.
Joshua Munzon (27 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 steals) and William Navarro (24 points and 11 rebounds) showed the way for NorthPort, which fell to 1-2.
The Scores
First game
Blackwater 120 – Barefield 20, David 19, Ilagan 17, Escoto 15, Andrade 14, Mallilin 10, Ayonayon 9, Guinto 7, Tungcab 5, Chua 2, Tratter 2, Casio 0.
NorthPort 98 – Munzon 27, Navarro 24, Tolentino 15, Bulanadi 12, Jalalon 7, Onwubere 6, Cuntapay 3, Flores 3, Yu 1, Nelle 0, Kwekuteye 0, Taha 0.
Quarters: 20-22, 48-47, 88-74, 120-98.
Second game
San Miguel 104 – Perez 23, Trollano 19, Fajardo 18, Cruz 11, Tiongson 10, Lassiter 10, Rosales 8, Calma 4, Teng 1, Brondial 0, Cahilig 0, Tautuaa 0, Ross 0.
Barangay Ginebra 93 – Rosario 24, Holt 16, Malonzo 16, Thompson 14, J. Aguilar 12, Abarrientos 6, Pinto 3, Ahanmisi 2, R. Aguilar 0, Adamos 0, Cu 0.
Quarters: 25-11, 48-30, 83-65, 104-93.
– Rappler.com
