San Miguel’s Marcio Lassiter. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–San Miguel Beer put an end to Blackwater’s dream playoff run with a convincing performance that resulted in a 123-93 victory on Wednesday for a seat in the semifinals of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen showed their status as the No. 1 team entering the quarterfinals, leading by as much as 39 points while having 11 of the 13 players who stepped on the floor scoring at least a basket.
Coach Leo Austria was pleased with what he saw after missing the last two games of the eliminations due to health and safety protocols as SMB advanced to the best-of-seven semis to face either Meralco or Barangay Ginebra San Miguel.
Meralco is up 1-0 over Ginebra in their best-of-three quarters affair.
“I have to commend our assistant coaches for keeping the players in shape. That’s why during the game, they were like a well-oiled machine,” said Austria.
Marcio Lassiter made six triples on his way to 18 points, CJ Perez had the same amount of points with five rebounds and seven assists while Jericho Cruz made 12 of his 17 points in the first half.
Rodney Brondial hauled down 15 rebounds and Chris Ross dished out 12 assists.
The loss ended what started as a promising run for the Bossing, who started the conference with five wins in the first six outings.
But falling short to the Beermen in overtime last July 9 began a freefall resulting in five straight defeats that relegated them to the No. 8 spot and needing twice to keep their campaign alive.
Rookie center Ato Ular’s 15 points and 11 rebounds, however, were not enough for Blackwater.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 123 — Lassiter 18, Perez 18, Cruz 17, Tautuaa 12, Manuel 12, Enciso 11, Fajardo 11, Herndon 9, Brondial 6, Pessumal 5, Zamar 4, Ross 0, Canete 0, Faundo 0.
BLACKWATER 93 — Ular 15, Amer 13, Ebona 12, Sena 11, Ayonayon 11, Suerte 8, Go 8, Casio 5, McCarthy 5, Publico 5, Dyke 2, Escoto 0, Ganuelas-Rosser 0.
Quarters: 32-13, 63-39, 94-63, 123-93.
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