San Miguel trumps Globalport but bows out of playoff chase

June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel (light) vs ANthony Semerad of Globalport (dark).

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer beat Globalport, 106-94, but came up way short of the needed winning margin to remain in playoff contention in the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo played his best game of the conference with 31 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field that went with 19 rebounds and four blocks for the Beermen, who bowed out of the quarterfinals race due to inferior quotient.

“I think it’s a nice win for us to end the conference,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “It’s just unfortunate for us that we struggled in our first few games.”

“I’m happy to end this conference on a winning note and I hope that we’ve learned our lesson.”

The Batang Pier, who played without their prized rookie Stanley Pringle for the third straight game, dropped their fourth stint in a row. Globalport’s fate now hinges on Ginebra on the final game of the elimination round on Wednesday.

A win by the Kings over the Alaska Aces, who are fighting for survival, will give Globalport a quarterfinals slot

Derrick Caracter led the Batang Pier with 18 points and 19 rebounds but was still left searching for his first PBA win. Terrence Romeo added 15 but only scored two points in the second half.