
SMB back in the groove

DEFENDING champion San Miguel Beer caught fire from beyond the arc late in the game to bring down Magnolia, 85-78, in a pivotal PBA Commissioner’s Cup clash at the Ynares Center in Antipolo over the weekend.
With both teams’ quarterfinal hopes on the line, the Beermen finished off the Hotshots and sealed the much-needed victory with a decisive 11-2 run down the stretch.
Marcio Lassiter played like the Marcio Lassiter of old as he drained back-to-back three-pointers, followed by a clutch triple from CJ Perez that delivered the knockout blow.
More importantly, thecw8n enabled the Beermen tonmprove to an even 4-4 win-loss record, holding on to eighth place.
Perez spearheaded San Miguel’s charge, finishing with 23 points on an efficient 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the three-point territory along with six rebounds, 10 assists, and four steals,
Import Jabari Narcis also delivered a monster performance with 18 points, 23 rebounds, two blocks, one steal, and 9ne assist, finally securing his first win for the team after four tries across the PBA and EASL.
Best Player of the Conference frontrunner June Mar Fajardo and Juami Tiongson contributed 13 points apiece, with Fajardo also hauling down 14 rebounds to solidify the victory.
Jericho Cruz and Lassiter chipped in 10 and eight points, respectively.
Ricardo Ratliffe led the Hotshots’ losing effort with 24 points, and 15 rebounds.
Mark Barroca added 13 points while Zav Lucero and Jerome Lastimosa chipped in with nine points each for the Hotshors, who fell to 11th place at 3-6.
“We considered this game as most crucial for us as Magnolia is one our closest rivals for the Top 8. A loss will slide us to the Bottom 5 but a win will get us to the Top 8,” said San miguel coach Leo Austria.
“This win will be a good morale booster for us, giving us more confidence going to our next game against Meralco (on Saturday in Candon),” Austria added.
The scores:
San Miguel (85) — Perez 23, Narcis 18, Tiongson 13, Fajardo 13, Cruz 10, Lassiter 8, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Trollano 0, Cahilig 0
Magnolia (78) — Ratliffe 24, Barroca 13, Lucero 9, Lasimosa 9, Sangalang 6, Dela Rosa 4, Abueva 4, Alfaro 4, Ahanmisi 3, Balanza 2, Dionisio 0, Laput 0
Quarterscores: 20-17, 40-29, 60-60, 85-78.