GAME WEDNESDAY
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs. SMB
TRAPPED at the left corner, San Miguel Beer guard Jericho Cruz fired a three-pointer with TNT counterpart Roger Pogoy’s hand all over his face in thr fourth quarter Wednesday night.
With Cruz typifying a fiery fourth quarter attack, the Beermen hammered a 105-91 victory over the Tropang 5G in Game 4 of their best-of-7 finals duel for the PBA Philippine Cup title at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Cruz banged in the triple that gave SMB an 84-79 lead with 5:11 to go, with the former Adamson University standout pumping his chest and Beermen jersey and for good reason.
Cruz notched 23 points on five treys, on top of three rebounds for SMB, while CJ Perez added 16 markers, three boards, and five assists.
Reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, named Best Player of the Conference before tip-off, also had a double-double of 15 and 12 with Don Trollano and Marcio Lassiter adding 11 and 10 points, respectively as the Beermen rolled to a third straight win in the Big Dance—including a 108-88 rout in the third tiff last Friday—and a commanding 3-1 series lead.
SMB can wrap up the titular round on Wednesday, July 23, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum and end TNT’s Grand Slam dreams.
Jordan Heading led the Tropang 5G with 23 points and five assists while Kelly Williams and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser tallied 14 each.
Roger Pogoy and Calvin Oftana also contributed 11 markers apiece for TNT.
