Terrific 12: San Miguel drubs Shenzhen to bolster semis bid

MACAU—San Miguel, despite missing three of its starters, hammered down CBA’s Shenzhen, 90-76, in the group stages of the East Asia Super League: The Terrific 12 Tuesday at Tap Seac Sports Pavilion here.

The Beermen, who played without June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, and Marcio Lassiter, took a 1-0 record in Group B and will need to beat Ryukyu Thursday to cement their spot in the semifinals of the invitational tournament.

Leading the whole game, San Miguel’s only hiccup was when the Aviators cut the deficit to one, 62-61, early in the fourth quarter after a 21-12 run from the Chinese club capped off by Zifeng Rong’s three-pointer.

But San Miguel retaliated with a 14-4 run punctuated by a three pointer from Terrence Romeo to push the lead back to a commanding 80-67 lead with 4:23 left in the game.

“At the start we’re really worried because this is our first time in the tournament but it’s nice here because we won our first game and I’m very excited for the rest of the tournament,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.

Dez Wells, who will be San Miguel’s import in the PBA Governors’ Cup, led the Beermen with 29 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and five steals while Romeo had 17 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.

Chris Ross and Christian Standhardinger added 11 points apiece while Lester Prosper added 10 points and 15 boards.

Pierre Jackson led the Aviators with 18 points and nine rebounds.