San Miguel back in familiar territory after claiming top seed ahead of Philippine Cup quarters

After missing a playoff for the first time in a decade last conference, San Miguel returned to familiar ground after claiming the top seed in PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup on Sunday. 

The Beermen, who failed to catch the quarterfinals bus last Commissioner's Cup, did so after crushing NorthPort with a dominant 126-91 win at the Ynares Center Antipolo to assure themselves the top spot that comes with a twice-to-beat bonus. 

CJ Perez, who admitted they were all disappointed following their early exit last conference, led the way this time with 24 points laced with five rebounds, one steal, and one assist while Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano each chipped in 17 markers as the Beermen ended the elimination with an 8-3 card. 

June Mar Fajardo finished with a double-double effort of 10 points and 11 rebounds together with four assists and three steals while Marcio Lassiter chimed in with 10 markers and four boards. 

But San Miguel isn't overly focused on their seeding, especially as they are set to take on a dangerous Meralco side that took the All-Filipino crown away from them last year.

"Nasa top seed kami ngayon pero it doesn't matter kasi lahat ng teams ngayon sobrang nag-improve and last conference, hindi sanay 'yung San Miguel na wala sa playoffs and lahat kami parang disappointed," Perez said.

"So ang ginawa namin ngayon ay nag-focus sa top four at dahan-dahanin namin 'yung playoffs until finals."

For San Miguel head coach Leo Austria, their preparation for the quarterfinals began as early as their game against the also-ran Batang Pier.  

The Beermen wasted no time imposing its dominance, cruising to an early 57-38 lead with the troika of Fajardo, Lssiter, and Perez powering a 13-5 run to close out the first half. 

Perez then dropped 11 of his total output in the third frame that stretched the gap to a massive 25-point separation, 92-67. It was all San Miguel from that point with Jeron Teng completing a three-point play that sent them to their biggest lead at 111-74 halfway through the payoff period. 

 "This game is very important to us. A win will get us to top four with a twice-to-beat advantage and if we lost and Ginebra wins, we'd have been at number five so we treated it as the start of a best-of-three [series] so nakaisa na kami," Austria said. 

"We need one more game sa quarterfinals to get to the semifinals. Credit sa mga players kasi at the start of the conference, they worked really hard."

NorthPort, which ended its campaign with a dismal 2-9 win-loss record, leaned on Joshua Munzon as the veteran guard poured in 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one block while Cade Flores posted13 markers and 12 boards. 

Scores:

San Miguel 126 – Perez 24, Cruz 17, Trollano 17, Tautuaa 14, Fajardo 10, Lassiter 10, Brondial 8, Tiongson 7, Teng 4, Cahilig 3, Rosales 2, Calma 2, Ross 0.

NorthPort 91 – Munzon 19, Flores 13, Balanza 11, Yu 11, Taha 9, Abueva 5, Nelle 5, Cuntapay 5, Bulanadi 5, Kwekuteye 5, Onwubere 3, Nava 0.

Quarters: 25-16, 57-38, 92-67, 126-91.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News