NO championship hangover for San Miguel Beer.

The Beermen kicked off their PBA Philippine Cup campaign in style, beating Rain or Shine, 109-97, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jericho Cruz led a balanced scoring effort for the Beermen, tallying 20 points while shooting 9-of-16 from the field in 27 minutes of play for coach Jorge Gallent.

Marcio Lassiter contributed 17 points, and Don Trollano added 16 points along with nine rebounds.

Seven-time PBA MVP, June Mar Fajardo delivered a double-double performance with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Terrence Romeo chipped in with 13 points and six assists in SMB’s victory.

Leonard Santillan led the E-Painters with 31 points and 14 rebounds in 33 minutes.

Big man Beau Belga added 18 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Beermen took control early and extended their lead to 15 points, 72-57, halfway through the third quarter courtesy of Lassiter’s three-pointer.

By the end of the third quarter, San Miguel. had further increased their advantage to 18 points.

However, the E-Painters fought back, narrowing the deficit to 11 points.

But Fajardo scored five consecutive points to bring the lead back to 16 points.

San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent said he expected the team’s fiery showing based on their performance during their latest sessions.

“In the last four or five practices they were really intense,” said Gallent.

“They just brought it to this game today. The players are all locked in now and they know what this game meant because this is our first game of the conference and it’s really good to start on a winning note and they just played hard today,”he added.

The scores:

San Miguel (109) – Cruz 20, Lassiter 17, Trollano 16, Fajardo 15, Romeo 13, Tautuaa 7, Perez 7, Teng 6, Brondial 5, Enciso 3, Ross 0, Manuel 0
Rain or Shine (97) – Santillan 31, Belga 18, Clarito 18, Caracut 9, Mamuyac 9, Belo 5, Nocum 3, Nocum 2, Demusis 2, Concepcion 0, Norwood 0, Asistio 0.
Quarterscores: 24-22, 56-45, 91-73, 109-97.