June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel (dark) vs Yousif Taha and Joe Devance of Purefoods (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer withstood a late push by Purefoods to win, 87-80, in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
June Mar Fajardo collected 22 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks for the Beermen while Marc Pingris, perhaps the only guy who could possibly contain him, watched helplessly on the Star Hotshots bench.
“It’s a good win for us because we beat last season’s finalists. It’s an indication that our team is on the right track,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria, whose squad improved to 2-0 after beating Rain or Shine in its first game while sending Purefoods to a 0-2 start.
Ronald Tubid was a spark off the SMB bench with 16 points, eight each in the second and fourth quarter.
The Beermen zoomed to a 19-point lead, 56-37, in the third quarter before the Star Hotshots stormed back in the fourth period behind Mark Barroca.
Barroca finished with 13 points, nine coming in the final frame. PJ Simon had a team-high 14 points and so did Yousef Taha, who played heavy minutes with Ian Sangalang sitting the first of many games after being diagnosed with severe knee injury.
Purefoods also missed the services of two-time MVP James Yap due to a calf injury.
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