CRIPPLED? SMB DOESN’T LOOK SO
San Miguel Beer stayed hot while keeping NorthPort grounded, romping off with a 122-106 rout to claim the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen 6-1 unleashed their heavy 5-1
artillery in picking up 4-1
their third consecutive 7-2
win en route to a 4-3 3-3
leading 6-1 win-loss 4-3 2-5 card ahead of idle 2-5
Barangay Ginebra (5-1). 2-5
Gunners Robbie 1-5 0-6 Herndon and Marcio
Lassiter rifled in 21 and 18 points, respectively, and backup guard Paul Zamar chipped in 15 to complement the usual suspects and spark SMB to the runaway triumph.
Herndon, a pre-season trade acquisition from Converge, and Lassiter formed the tip of a telling 29-8 bomb at the start of the fourth to transform a tied contest into 111-90 tear for SMB.
June Mar Fajardo (21-9), CJ Perez (17-9-12) and Jericho Cruz (12) delivered their normal numbers as the Beermen hardly missed the absence of injured stars Chris Ross (knee), Vic Manuel (calf), Mo Tautuaa (infection) and Terrence Romeo (slipped disc) in hurdling the challenge of a Robert Bolick-less Batang Pier (five straight losses for 2-5).
Herndon highlighted his best game for San Miguel with an 11-point outburst in the fourth, earning Player of the Game honors.
“We came at it, picked up our defense in the fourth and we started hitting fastbreak points. Those were the key (to the breakaway),” said Herndon, who only needed 20 minutes of action to score his career-high 21.
Arwind Santos showed the way for NorthPort with 25, achieving a personal milestone as only the 17th player in PBA history to score 10,000 points.
In the nightcap, Magnolia used a big third-quarter surge to build the momentum to a 87-73 victory over NLEX.
After trailing by as many as 15, Jio Jalalon and Marc Barroca presided over a searing 33-12 salvo off the break to wrest control en route to their third straight win and 4-3 in a tie with the Road Warriors.
The scores: First Game San Miguel Beer 122 – Herndon 21, Fajardo 21, Lassiter 18, Perez 17, Zamar 15, Cruz 12, Enciso 7, Brondial 6, Faundo 3, Pessumal 2, Canete 0.
NorthPort 106 – Santos 25, Sumang 20, Calma 14, Balanza 12, Malonzo 10, Dela Cruz 8, Ayaay 8, Javier 4, Ferrer 3, Apacible 2, Vigil 0, Subido 0. Quarterscores: 25-29, 55-55, 82-82, 122-106 Second Game Magnolia 87 – Barroca 18, Jalalon 16, Dionisio 14, Sangalang 12, Abueva 8, Wong 8, Dela Rosa 6, Corpuz 5, Reavis 0, Ahanmisi 0, Escoto 0.
NLEX 73 – Quinahan 17, Trollano 14, Oftana 14, Chua 9, Alas 9, Rosales 7, Semerad 2, Ighalo 1, Paniamogan 0, Magat 0, Miranda 0.
Quarterscores: 20-24, 32-46, 65-58, 87-73