Beermen looking to rebound after shellacking by Batang Pier

MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel, a team that has run rampant in the PBA for the better part of five years, went back into league action after missing the start of the Commissioner’s Cup for more than two weeks.

The Beermen just won their fifth straight Philippine Cup when they beat Magnolia in seven games ending in a 72-71 thriller back on May 15.

That championship form, however, went missing when the erstwhile formidable Beermen got shell-shocked after a 121-88 loss to NorthPort on Wednesday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Center June Mar Fajardo, the league’s only five-time MVP, said their horrendous performance drew not just the coaches’ ire but also of that of the management.

“Everybody was disappointed, the coaches were angry, the bosses were also mad,” said Fajardo in Filipino. “We played terrible, no other way around it, this was one of our worst games ever. We just have to bounce back in our next match.”

According to Fidel Mangonon, the league’s statistician, the Batang Pier’s 33-point victory over the Beermen was the club’s biggest win margin in franchise history.

It was also San Miguel’s worst defeat since losing to Barangay Ginebra 146-111 in Game 4 of the 2007 Philippine Cup finals.

Fajardo finished 19 points, five rebounds, and three blocks but the Beermen were still at the mercy of the Batang Pier.