GAMES WEDNESDAY
(Ynares Center, Antipolo)
5 p.m. – Meralco vs. Blackwater
7:30 p.m. – Rain or Shine vs. TNT
MONTALBAN, Rizal. — Reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo watched the ball bounce off the rim after a missed three-point try by Terrafirma guard Brent Paraiso Sunday night.
Fajardo did not need to pull down that rebound—wingman Don Trollano got the job done—and found a sprinting Jericho Cruz for a fast break layup that made it an 89-61 count with 2:11 to go in the third quarter.
Pounding their foes from the get-go, the Beermen waylaid the hapless Dyip 128-89 for their second straight win in the PBA Philippine Cup before a big crowd at the newly-built Ynares Center here.
SMB coach Leo said his charges pounced on the sleepy Terrafirma defense as one of the keys in the rout.
“We’re after our defensive schemes because we cannot let Terrafirma do its thing offensively. It turned out that off a turnover, we were sometimes able to run although our turnover points were still low,” Austria said. “But we were able to execute our half-court sets and there were a lot of opportunities.
“They played zone but we found the open men. It was their decision to take outside shots or not but fortunately, most of their shots went in. That’s the reason why we shot 50 percent from the field,” he added.
CJ Perez totaled 17 points, to go with four rebounds, and four assists for the Beermen while Mo Tautuaa chipped in 17 markers, eight boards, and two dimes.
Rodney Brondial also had 16 points and a career-high 22 rebounds with Juami Tiongson (13), Fajardo (12), Trollano (12), and Cruz (11) also hitting double-digits for SMB.
The runaway triumph served as a big follow-up to the Beermen’s 111-92 whipping of the Phoenix Fuel Masters last May 11 and hiked their mark to 5-2.
The Dyip absorbed their seventh loss in a row, including an 87-117 thrashing from the NLEX Road Warriors last Wednesday that dropped them to 1-7.
SMB promptly created a 53-37 separation at the half it sustained with a 95-64 spread heading into the fourth canto.
Terrafirma was simply outmatched the rest of the way.
Mark Nonoy paced the Dyip with 24 points and three caroms while Stanley Pringle and Louie Sangalang also got 17 and 10, respectively.
The Beermen went home from a faraway venue on a high on this weekend while Terrafirma, virtually out of the tourney, remained the same—woeful.
