MANILA, Philippines－The San Miguel Beermen ended the preliminary round on a high note as they secured a top two finish in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup after fending off the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 112-101, on Friday, June 2 at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
GlobalPort listed 7 of its 15 turnovers in the opening quarter, letting the Beermen capitalize on its offensive lapses to spark a 12-0 run early in the game.
But Terrence Romeo stepped up after a quiet first half, providing the Batang Pier with a 58-54 lead in the 3rd after connecting on back-to-back jumpers. The Beermen, however, avoided the same quarter meltdown as they went back up and took control of the match with Charles Rhodes’ 34-point performance leading the way.
Chris Ross poured out 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go with 5 rebounds and 6 assists, while June Mar Fajardo added 15 markers and 8 boards.
Alex Cabagnot had a double-double night of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos also contributed 13 apiece.
Import Justin Harper topscored for GlobalPort with 25 points and 12 boards, while Romeo finished with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 7 assists.
The Beermen are now secured of a twice-to-beat advantage, and will have to wait for the results of the Ginebra-Mahindra game later in the day for the final seeding.
GlobalPort, on the other hand, will face either Phoenix or Alaska in a knockout match on Sunday for the 8th spot in the quarterfinals. －Rappler.com
There are no comments yet. Add your comment to start the conversation.