IT’S a loud Christmas Night for the defending champions and top-seeded San Miguel Beermen as they demolished the No.8 NLEX Road Warriors, in a wide 101-94 win to punch their ticket to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Thursday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Imposing their championship poise yet again, the Beermen relied on their balanced scoring and smothering defense to block every way that the Road Warriors could take, en route to getting the Christmas Day clincher and their fifth straight All-Filipino semifinals ticket.
The 9-time league MVP, June Mar Fajardo, had an unboxing night for the reigning All-Filipino Conference champions, finishing with a huge double-double of 26 points and 23 rebounds, alongside six assists for SMB.
“We struggled in the first half because of NLEX. They were really prepared, especially in the first quarter; we were not able to execute our game. However, the likes of June Mar Fajardo didn’t score a lot in the first half, but he did in the second half. He knows how to win, because of the experience, they know how to win, especially in the second half,” Beermen head coach Leo Austria said.
Powered by the returning Gilas Pilipinas guard Robert Bolick, NLEX started the game scorching hot, building an early 20-13 lead in the first and going to the halftime break ahead, 53-47.
But the Beermen completely flipped the switch in the third, with their veteran core of Fajardo, Don Trollano, and Jericho Cruz leading their comeback. Fajardo barged his way in the second half, scoring 16 after the halftime break. Trollano followed suit with a 15-point quarter scoring that built the 32-point quarter storm by San Miguel.
Trollano ended the game with 17 points while Cruz nailed points off the bench for the streaking Beermen. Guard CJ Perez contributed 14, while Rodney Brondial also had a solid outing after registering an almost double-double with eight points and 14 rebounds, alongside Fajardo in the frontcourt.
Fresh from his gold medal outing for the national team in the Southeast Asian Games, Bolick was not able to replicate his success in Thailand, falling short in his comeback game in the PBA, despite a game-high 31-point performance.
Beermen entered the All-Filipino conference playoffs on a nine-game winning streak after their dismal 0-2 start to the season that caused many to question their championship capability. Finishing in first place ahead of the pack of the 12-team tournament, the Austria-headed squad continues to prove that the dynasty is far from over.
San Miguel will now await the winner of the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings-Converge FiberXers quarterfinal series that has been forced into a rubber-match this Sunday after the Gin Kings extended the series after a huge win later on the same Wednesday evening in Araneta.