Games today:
(Rizal Memorial Coliseum)
3 p.m. — Blackwater vs Terrafirma
6:15 p.m. — Converge vs Magnolia
San Miguel Beer’s second unit wreaked havoc on offense as the defending champion sent a strong message with a 109-97 win over luckless Rain or Shine on Friday in the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Head coach Jorge Gallent’s bench mob unleashed 74 points in the Beermen’s masterclass to open their title-retention bid.
Jericho Cruz put up 20 points off the bench while June Mar Fajardo played in a relief role but still powered his way to a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds for San Miguel Beer, which buckled back down to business following its championship run in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The grand slam-seeking Beermen also dominated the boards, pulling down 64 rebounds compared to the Elasto Painters’ 51.
“The players were all just locked in again now. They knew what this game meant because it’s the first game of the conference and it’s good to start with a winning note that’s why they just played hard today,” Gallent said.
San Miguel was quick to react to Rain or Shine’s late third-quarter rally when it cut down its lead to single digits as it brought order back with a 91-73 advantage going into the payoff period.
Terrence Romeo swished in a jumper to give the Beermen their biggest lead, 107-87, in the last 3:43 of the game.
Marcio Lassiter had 17 points, Don Trollano made 16 and had nine rebounds while Romeo added 13 for San Miguel, which spoiled Leonard Santillan’s career night of 31 points and 14 rebounds for the still winless Elasto Painters.
The Beermen pulled away in the second quarter after a narrow two-point lead at the end of the opening period. San Miguel built a 56-43 advantage heading into halftime capped by a buzzer-beating triple by Mo Tautuaa.
Rain or Shine absorbed its fourth loss in as many games.
Meanwhile, Magnolia tries to open its campaign on a winning note against a Converge side hoping to snap four-game funk when PBA action visits the fabled Rizal Memorial Coliseum on Saturday.
The league makes its return to the 90-year-old sports arena for the first time in decades for a double-header playdate featuring the Hotshots-FiberXers main game clash at 6:15 p.m.
RMC once housed the Manila Industrial and Commercial Athletic Association, forerunner of what would be the PBA in 1975, and bore witness to countless sporting events, including boxing great Flash Elorde’s defense of the world junior-lightweight crown in the 1960s.
Battling in the curtain-raiser at 3 p.m. are Blackwater and Terrafirma, both shooting to get back in the win column after dropping their previous games.
Paul Lee, Calvin Abueva, Ian Sangalang and Mark Barroca will be at forefront of Magnolia’s first step in its quest to get back to the championship round following a runner-up finish to San Miguel Beer in the Commissioner’s Cup.
Converge is winless in four starts.
The Bossing, on the other hand, wants to rebound from a 97-103 loss to NLEX which snapped their three-game win streak to slide to a 3-1 slate tied with NorthPort.
After a great start where they won back-to-back games, the Dyip dropped two straight games against TNT and Phoenix.
