MANILA, May 16 ------ San Miguel Beer avoided a historic upset by crushing TerraFirma, 110-91, in their do-or-die affair in the 2024 PBA Philippine Cup at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
The top-seeded Beermen needed to maximize their twice-to-beat advantage against the Dyip, which forced a decider after a stunning 106-95 win last Saturday. But the Beermen regained their form behind a 25-point, 22-rebound masterpiece from June Mar Fajardo, pulling away in the second half to end TerraFirma's Cinderella run in the quarterfinals. The Dyip trailed by just one point, 45-44, at the break only to give up 34 points to San Miguel in the pivotal third quarter. Fajardo was unstoppable in the frame, making five of his seven shots for 10 points.
The Beermen went on to lead by as much as 21 points in the dying seconds, courtesy of a Don Trollano triple that made it 110-89. Terrence Romeo had 19 points off the bench, while Trollano and CJ Perez each had 18 points. Squandered in the loss was a 23-point outing from Javi Gomez de Liano, and 18 points each from Stephen Holt and Juami Tiongson. San Miguel will play the winner of the quarterfinals series against TNT and Rain or Shine in the best-of-seven semis.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 110 – Fajardo 25, Romeo 19, Perez 18, Trollano 18, Cruz 11, Lassiter 8, Ross 5, Tautuaa 4, Brondial 2, Enciso 0
TERRAFIRMA 91 – Gomez de Liano 23, Holt 18, Tiongson 18, Cahilig 12, Go 7, Camson 7, Carino 4, Ramos 2, Alolino 0, Mina 0, Sangalang 0
QUARTERS: 20-25, 45-44, 79-66, 110-91
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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