MANILA, Philippines – It was only a matter time before the San Miguel Beermen return to their winning ways.

After surprisingly dropping their first 3 games, the Beermen finally cracked the winning column with a come-from-behind 106-94 triumph over Phoenix in the 2018 PBA Commissioners’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, May 30.

Renaldo Balkman scattered 35 points, 17 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 blocks and two steals as San Miguel, which got buried by as much as 13 points, overcame a lethargic first half with a fiery 4th-quarter showing. 

Down by two points midway through the final frame, 86-88, the Beermen turned into higher gear and uncorked a 17-1 run to pull away from the Fuel Masters. 

Christian Standhardinger delivered 18 points and 7 rebounds while Arwind Santos chipped in 13 points, with 11 coming in the 4th period alone, and 5 rebounds for San Miguel.

Alex Cabagnot chalked up 13 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds and Marcio Lassiter added 12 markers, 3 assists, 3 rebound and 3 steals in the win.

“Talagang makikita niyo naman na talagang we’re not yet in the game that we had during the semifinals or playoffs of the All-Filipino. And we’re trying our best na as soon as possible, makuha namin ang chemistry namin,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.

(You can see that we’re not in the level of play we had during the semifinals or playoffs of the All-Filipino. And we’re trying out best that as soon as possible, we can develop our chemistry.)

The Beermen’s lack of chemistry showed in the first two quarters as they headed into the second half with a 12-point deficit, 37-49. 

San Miguel narrowed the gap to just two points after the 3rd period, 70-72, before taking over the in final canto. 

Eugene Phelps paced Phoenix – which fell to 3-3 – with 33 points, 17 rebounds, 8 assists, two steals and two blocks.

Matthew Wright fired 17 points on top of 7 rebounds, 4 assists and two steals while RJ Jazul added 10 markers in the loss. 

The Scores:

San Miguel (106): Balkman 35, Standhardinger 18, Cabagnot 13, Santos 13, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 9, Ross 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 0, Lanete 0, Heruela 0

Phoenix (94): Phelps 33, Wright 17, Jazul 10, Chua 8, Perkins 8, Wilson 6, Kramer 6, Chan 4, Mendoza 2, Revilla 0, Intal 0

Quarter scores: 17-18, 37-49, 70-72, 106-94

– Rappler.com