San Miguel secured a 2-0 series lead against Barangay Ginebra in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals with a 106-96 victory.

Bennie Boatwright rediscovered his scoring touch after being held to a conference-low output in Game 1 as he unloaded 38 points for the Beermen in Game 2 of the best-of-five series.

Fourth quarter

• FINAL: San Miguel takes a commanding 2-0 lead over Ginebra in their best-of-five semifinal series with a 106-96 win
• SAN MIGUEL 106-96: June Mar Fajardo adds two more from the free throw stripe
• SAN MIGUEL 104-96: Bennie Boatwright likely ices the game with two more freebies
• SAN MIGUEL 102-96: Christian Standhardinger splits his foul shots
• SAN MIGUEL 102-95: June Mar Fajardo makes it a three-possession game with a free throw
• SAN MIGUEL 101-95: Marcio Lassiter 2/2 from the line
• SAN MIGUEL 99-95: Tony Bishop sinks a pair of free throws
• SAN MIGUEL 99-93: Bennie Boatwright fires and hits from downtown
• SAN MIGUEL 96-93: Christian Standhardinger converts inside
• SAN MIGUEL 96-91: CJ Perez cleans up the miss
• SAN MIGUEL 94-91: Marcio Lassiter and Jamie Malonzo trade huge treys
• SAN MIGUEL 91-88: Christian Standhardinger splits his free throws once again
• SAN MIGUEL 91-87: CJ Perez with two charities
• SAN MIGUEL 89-87: Christian Standhardinger 1/2 from the line
• SAN MIGUEL 89-86: Bennie Boatwright attacks Christian Standhardinger and scores
• SAN MIGUEL 87-86: Tony Bishop with a wide-open basket
• SAN MIGUEL 87-84: June Mar Fajardo connects inside
• SAN MIGUEL 85-84: Tony Bishop splits his free throws
• SAN MIGUEL 85-83: Jericho Cruz with an easy finish on the break
• 83-83: Maverick Ahanmisi lobs it up to Japeth Aguilar in transition
• SAN MIGUEL 83-81: Maverick Ahanmisi sinks a hook shot
• SAN MIGUEL 83-79: Don Trollano for three
• SAN MIGUEL 80-79: Tony Bishop spins and scores against Don Trollano
• SAN MIGUEL 80-77: Jamie Malonzo completes the and-one
• SAN MIGUEL 80-74: Jeron Teng again
• SAN MIGUEL 78-74: Jeron Teng opens the final quarter with a short stab

Third quarter

• END OF 3Q: San Miguel regains control over Ginebra with a 76-74 lead
• SAN MIGUEL 76-74: Maverick Ahanmisi banks in a layup
• SAN MIGUEL 76-72: Bennie Boatwright now with 31 points after making two free throws
• SAN MIGUEL 74-72: Tony Bishop 2/2 from the foul line
• SAN MIGUEL 74-70: Tony Bishop completes a three-point play
• SAN MIGUEL 74-67: Bennie Boatwright lets it fly from downtown
• SAN MIGUEL 71-67: Bennie Boatwright splits his charities
• SAN MIGUEL 70-67: Jeron Teng fires a triple off the timeout
• 67-67: Jamie Malonzo side steps and scores
• SAN MIGUEL 67-65: Back-to-back threes by Marcio Lassiter
• GINEBRA 65-61: June Mar Fajardo goes 1/2 from the stripe
• GINEBRA 65-60: Stanley Pringle and Scottie Thompson with five consecutive points
• 60-60: Bennie Boatwright attacks and scores
• GINEBRA 60-58: Marcio Lassiter and Jamie Malonzo exchange triples
• GINEBRA 57-55: Stanley Pringle’s three-pointer is good
• SAN MIGUEL 55-54: Jamie Malonzo knocks down two free throws
• SAN MIGUEL 55-52: CJ Perez scores off a reverse layup
• SAN MIGUEL 53-52: Bennie Boatwright still on fire as he swishes from downtown
• GINEBRA 52-50: Tony Bishop splits his foul shots
• GINEBRA 51-50: Christian Standhardinger drops it off to Tony Bishop for the wide-open basket
• SAN MIGUEL 50-49: Jamie Malonzo stops Ginebra’s drought with a triple
• SAN MIGUEL 50-46: 7-0 run for the Beermen as Bennie Boatwright connects down low
• SAN MIGUEL 48-46: CJ Perez gives the Beermen back the lead with a long bomb
• GINEBRA 46-45: June Mar Fajardo opens the second half with a deuce

First-half performers

• Jamie Malonzo (GINEBRA) – 11 points
• Tony Bishop (GINEBRA) – 10 points
• Maverick Ahanmisi (GINEBRA) – 9 points
• Bennie Boatwright (SAN MIGUEL) – 18 points
• June Mar Fajardo (SAN MIGUEL) – 9 points
• CJ Perez (SAN MIGUEL) – 8 points

Second quarter

• HALFTIME: Ginebra outscores San Miguel in the second quarter, 25-20, for a 46-43 lead
• GINEBRA 46-43: Scottie Thompson fakes and scores over June Mar Fajardo
• GINEBRA 44-43: Jamie Malonzo puts the Gin Kings back on top with a wide-open layup
• SAN MIGUEL 43-42: June Mar Fajardo and Tony Bishop trade jumpers
• SAN MIGUEL 41-40: Maverick Ahanmisi banks in a runner
• SAN MIGUEL 41-38: Bennie Boatwright walks into a three-pointer
• 38-38: CJ Perez soars high for a tough layup
• GINEBRA 38-36: CJ Perez sinks two freebies
• GINEBRA 38-34: Maverick Ahanmisi hits from deep
• GINEBRA 35-34: Maverick Ahanmisi converts off a feed by John Pinto
• SAN MIGUEL 34-33: June Mar Fajardo finds the cutting CJ Perez for the easy undergoal stab
• GINEBRA 33-32: John Pinto with the steal and the finish on the break
• SAN MIGUEL 32-31: John Pinto sinks a three-pointer, Jericho Cruz responds with a long deuce
• SAN MIGUEL 30-28: Tony Bishop pulls up for a mid-range hit
• SAN MIGUEL 30-26: Mo Tautuaa with an easy basket
• SAN MIGUEL 28-26: Scottie Thompson counters with his own trey
• SAN MIGUEL 28-23: June Mar Fajardo swishes a rare three
• SAN MIGUEL 25-23: Don Trollano bullies his way inside
• 23-23: Scottie Thompson gets on the board with a smooth layup

First quarter

• END OF 1Q: San Miguel sets the tone with a slim 23-21 lead over Ginebra
• SAN MIGUEL 23-21: Maverick Ahanmisi buries a long two, but Bennie Boatwright quickly answers with a long bomb
• SAN MIGUEL 20-19: Christian Standhardinger beats the shot-clock buzzer with a layup
• SAN MIGUEL 20-17: Bennie Boatwright with a tough bucket
• SAN MIGUEL 18-17: Christian Standhardinger banks it in
• SAN MIGUEL 18-15: June Mar Fajardo scores off a putback
• SAN MIGUEL 16-15: Jamie Malonzo keeps it going with his third triple of the game
• SAN MIGUEL 16-12: June Mar Fajardo 2/2 from the line
• SAN MIGUEL 14-12: Two consecutive threes by Jamie Malonzo
• SAN MIGUEL 14-9: CJ Perez drives strong and scores
• SAN MIGUEL 12-9: Jamie Malonzo cans the corner trey
• SAN MIGUEL 12-6: Tony Bishop converts again down low
• SAN MIGUEL 12-4: Bennie Boatwright now with 10 points as he scores again inside
• SAN MIGUEL 10-4: Back-to-back hits by Tony Bishop
• SAN MIGUEL 10-2: Tony Bishop finally puts Ginebra on the board with a layup
• SAN MIGUEL 10-0: Bennie Boatwright again, this time from downtown
• SAN MIGUEL 7-0: Bennie Boatwright completes an and-one play
• SAN MIGUEL 4-0: Bennie Boatwright with a wide-open finish
• SAN MIGUEL 2-0: Marcio Lassiter starts things off with a floater

Starting lineup

• SAN MIGUEL: Chris Ross, CJ Perez, Marcio Lassiter, Bennie Boatwright, June Mar Fajardo
• GINEBRA: Stanley Pringle, Scottie Thompson, Jamie Malonzo, Tony Bishop, Christian Standhardinger

Preview

Game 1 of the highly-anticipated best-of-five semifinal series between the San Miguel Beermen and the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup certainly lived up to its hype. 

PBA fans were treated to a thrilling, nip-and-tuck showdown between the two star-studded teams, where San Miguel drew first blood with a 92-90 escape. 

As both squads face off anew in Game 2 on Friday, January 26, San Miguel shoots for a commanding 2-0 lead, while Ginebra aims for an equalizer.

With their high-scoring import Bennie Boatwright held to just 23 points, the powerhouse Beermen got a huge lift from CJ Perez, who sizzled for a conference-high 26 points.

As expected, reigning PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo proved to be a force to be reckoned with, putting up a near double-double of 18 points and 9 rebounds.

After coming up with his lowest scoring output in the PBA, look for Boatwright, who averaged 40.5 points in his first four games in a Beermen uniform, to regain his offensive touch in Game 2.

Also count on Perez and Fajardo to ride on their hot momentum as San Miguel tries to move on the cusp of the Commissioner’s Cup finals. 

The Beermen are also likely to receive additional firepower in Game 2 as Terrence Romeo is expected to return after missing the series opener due to a left ankle sprain.  

For Ginebra, expect import Tony Bishop to redeem himself after being limited to 20 points on a lowly 6-of-17 shooting.

Christian Standhardinger, who led the Gin Kings in scoring with 21 points, will also look to bounce back and atone for his crucial Game 1 blunder, where he failed to secure a pass from Scottie Thompson in the final possession. 

Game time is 4 pm. – Rappler.com