MANILA, Philippines – San Miguel turned into the Grinch on Christmas and shot Phoenix down from its meteoric rise after a 117-96 win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum on Monday, December 25.

Terrence Romeo caught fire late and finished with 22 points, 8 assists, and 2 steals as the Beermen leaned on a big fourth quarter to halt the Fuel Masters’ six-game winning streak and book their quarterfinal berth.

Romeo erupted for 15 points in the final period, which saw San Miguel outscore Phoenix 38-16 after a nip-and-tuck action in the first three quarters.

The Fuel Masters ended the third frame up 80-79 thanks to an RJ Jazul buzzer-beater from half-court before Romeo heated up, scoring 11 points in a 27-12 run that gave the Beermen a 106-92 lead with 3:30 minutes left.

San Miguel stretched its lead to as big as 24 points, 117-93, off an 11-0 run inside the final three minutes.

Import Bennie Boatwright churned out 26 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 assists in his debut for the Beermen, who claimed their third consecutive win and improved to 6-3 to become the fourth team to qualify for the playoffs.

Boatwright replaced Ivan Aska as San Miguel brought in the 6-foot-10 big man after star center June Mar Fajardo sustained a hand injury.

CJ Perez chalked up all-around numbers of 20 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 5 steals for the Beermen, while Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano added 15 and 12 points, respectively.

Phoenix got sent crashing back to earth despite another sterling outing from import Johnathan Williams III, who supplied 37 points and 16 rebounds.

Williams, though, scored just 5 points in the fourth quarter as the Fuel Masters ran out of steam in their bid to extend the longest active winning streak in the league.

Jazul had 14 points, while Sean Manganti and Javee Mocon scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Phoenix, which fell to 7-2.

The Scores

San Miguel 117 – Boatwright 26, Romeo 22, Perez 20, Cruz 15, Trollano 12, Brondial 8, Lassiter 6, Tautuaa 4, Ross 2, Mallilin 2

Phoenix 96 – Williams 37, Jazul 14, Manganti 11, Mocon 10, Tio 6, Rivero 5, Garcia 4, Alejandro 4, Muyang 3, Tuffin 2, Verano 0, Camacho 0, Lalata 0, Daves 0

Quarters: 30-34, 54-58, 79-80, 117-96.

– Rappler.com