San Miguel Beermen’s Jericho Cruz. –PBA IMAGES
San Miguel Beer shook off repeated rallies of NorthPort to take an 87-75 victory in the PBA On Tour on Saturday in Caloocan City.
Four players scored in double figures as the Beermen won inside Caloocan Sports Complex after dropping their On Tour opener against the Phoenix Fuel Masters.
Jericho Cruz scored 22 points while Rodney Brondial had 18 points and 21 rebounds for San Miguel.
Terrence Romeo once again played signficant playing time, appearing for 35 minutes and finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
The Beermen led by as many as 26 but the Batang Pier cut the deficit to 39-34 at the half and trailed by nine in the fourth.
Paul Zamar and MJ Ayaay were among those who tried to put NorthPort closer but to no avail.
Zamar finished with 20 points against his former team while Ayaay posted 18 points on 7-of-12 from the field.
It was NorthPort’s second defeat in as many games in the series.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 87 – Cruz 22, Brondial 18, Romeo 14, Tautuaa 11, Herndon 7, Faundo 5, Bulanadi 6, Lee 2, Baclao 2, De Vera 0, Saldua 0
NORTHPORT 75 – Zamar 20, Ayaay 18, Calma 14, Chan 5, Bauzon 5, Gabriel 4, Comboy 3, Santos 2, Taha 2, Yu 2, Caperal 0, Munzon 0, Balagasay 0, Olivario 0, Salado 0
Quarters: 19-6, 39-34, 68-55, 87-75.