Jericho Cruz catches fire as San Miguel runs away with 3-1 lead vs. TNT

MANILA, July 21 ------ The San Miguel Beermen are a win away from reclaiming their spot at the top of the PBA. The Leo Austria-mentored team is now enjoying a 3-1 lead in the Season 49 Philippine Cup Finals after they moved past the TNT Tropang 5G, 105-91, in their faceoff at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Doing wonders for San Miguel Beer was Jericho Cruz who erupted for 23 points — 15 in the fourth — which was built on five markers from beyond the arc, while June Mar Fajardo tallied a 15-point, 16-rebound outing with three steals and a pair of blocks. "The biggest factor was the first game. It fueled our grit. Kita mo sa player, in their eyes, they want to win," recalled Austria after the contest. "We had a bad start, but the bench provided a lot of energy. From there, yung energy at intensity namin, naging aggressive kami. They also had so many combinations, but we reminded our players what to do. If you noticed, this was the first time that we shot from the three-point area, and that was the key," he added.

Cruz, for his part, also touched on their controversial Game 1 loss and how it continues to add to their motivations. "Sayang yung unang pagkatalo namin kasi akala namin we had the chance to win. But tapos na yun, move on na kami doon," he said. "Sabi rin ni boss [Alfrancis Chua] Laruin mo lang yung laro mo. Hayaan mo lang yung sinasabi ng iba."

Also starring for SMB were CJ Perez (16 points, five assists, three rebounds), Don Trollano (11 points, six rebounds, three assists), and Marcio Lassiter (10 points). The Beermen will look to close out the Best-of-7 series and end the Grand Slam dreams of TNT come Wednesday, July 23, 7:30 p.m., at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City. It was only a 73-72 contest with still over eight minutes left in the game, but Cruz stepped up for SMB at the 8:05 mark, draining a three-pointer to push their lead to four.

RR Pogoy quickly answered with his own trey in their following possession, but Cruz, as well as Trollano, took charge for the Beermen, as the former hit two triples while the latter scored on a deuce for an 84-79 lead at the 5:11 mark. Fajardo and CJ Perez then hit on consecutive shots for an 88-79 lead with only four minutes and change left, and while a Glenn Khobuntin and-one brought the Tropang 5G to within six at the 3:45 mark, that was the nearest that they could get as the Beermen eventually held on until the last buzzer.

Jordan Heading led TNT with 23 points with five assists, while Kelly Williams, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, RR Pogoy, and Calvin Oftana scored 14, 14, 11, and 11, respectively. Unfortunately, all of these went for naught as they have now lost three straight games since their slim 99-96 escape in Game 1.

The Scores:

San Miguel 105 – Cruz 23, Perez 16, Fajardo 15, Trollano 11, Lassiter 10, Tiongson 8, Ross 7, Teng 6, Tautuaa 4, Calma 3, Brondial 2, Cahilig 0.

TNT 91 – Heading 23, Williams 14, Ganuelas-Rosser 14, Oftana 11, Pogoy 11, Khobuntin 7, Erram 6, Vosotros 3, Nieto 0, Heruela 0.

Quarterscores: 21-23, 45-37, 64-67, 105-91.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com