San Miguel dethrones Meralco in PBA Philippine Cup, advances to semis

San Miguel dethroned erstwhile defending champs Meralco, 108-97, in the quarterfinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium to advance to the conference semifinals.

The twice-to-beat Beermen dispatched the Bolts as they aim to reclaim the All-Filipino trophy.

San Miguel held the lead at halftime, 58-44, before the Bolts found its bearings in the third quarter and inched closer, 77-75, with 1:28 remaining in the said frame. Rodney Brondial's layup and Juami Tiongson's free throws then sealed the third period and handed San Miguel an 81-75 lead.

The Beermen then continued to pull away as they opened the final frame with a 10-2 run to take a 91-77 advantage, before making its biggest lead at 100-82 after a Don Trollano triple at the 6:14 mark. It was enough for San Miguel already as it cruised all the way to the final buzzer.

"It's all about pride," San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said. "Because we know na in the last championship of the All-Filipino, Meralco beat us. We redeemed ourselves from that loss, last conference we never got in the quarterfinals, now we're in the semifinals. I think it's a good achievement."

Austria added that what they have prepared for is going beyond this level and trying to reclaim the crown. For the multi-titled coach, however, it may be a long shot.

"The next bracket, it could be Converge or Ginebra and we know how strong those teams are, especially Converge, they have a lot of big man that can match up with June Mar [Fajardo]."

Fajardo had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and four blocks, while Juami Tiongson and Trollano had 19 points apiece. CJ Perez, meanwhile, had 14 points, nine assists, a rebound, and a block, while Rodney Brondial stepped up with his own 13 points, 12 rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a block.

The win spoiled Chris Banchero's 32-point eruption for the Bolts, as Chris Newsome had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Bolts who made their first appearance after their stint at BCL Asia.

San Miguel will now wait for the winner of the quarterfinals series between twice-to-beat Barangay Ginebra and Converge.

Scores:

San Miguel 108 – Fajardo 23, Trollano 19, Tiongson 19, Perez 14,Brondial 13, Tauatuaa 10, Cruz 5, Lassiter 3, Ross 0, Cahilig 0, Rosales 0.

Meralco 97 – Banchero 32, Newsome 23, Torres 13, Quinto 6, Almazan 6, Hodge 5, Bates 4, Cansino 4, Jose 4, Pascual 0, Black 0, Rios 0.

Quarters: 35-20, 58-44, 81-75, 108-97.

—JKC, GMA Integrated News