Herndon spoils Santos' 10,000-point night as San Miguel outguns NorthPort

MANILA, Philippines – The mighty San Miguel Beermen continued to flex their all-around dominance in the PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup with a late-game 122-106 pullaway against the skidding NorthPort Batang Pier at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, July 2.

New acquisition Robbie Herndon came out of nowhere to tie his career-high with 21 points off the bench in just 20 minutes, while six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo also scored 21 on a 9-of-11 clip plus 9 rebounds.

Marcio Lassiter also chipped in 18 points on 3-of-5 shooting from three, while CJ Perez came one rebound shy of another triple-double with a 17-point, 12-assist, 9-board line.

Coming off a slim 92-88 lead early in the fourth quarter, San Miguel shifted its offense to a higher gear on the back of Herndon and Paul Zamar’s offense, and left NorthPort in the dust with a pivotal 19-2 burst for the sudden 21-point gap, 111-90, with a little under five minutes left in regulation.

The Batang Pier only managed to get within 100-113 in the final 2:25 of the game before the balanced Beermen charge closed things out for good.

Ageless ace Arwind Santos paced NorthPort’s fifth-straight loss with a stellar line of 25 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks, and 3 assists. With a fadeaway jumper over his former teammate Fajardo at the 11:19 mark of the 3rd quarter, the 41-year-old star became the 17th member of the PBA’s 10,000-point club.

However, Santos’ leadership alongside Roi Sumang’s 20-point, 6-rebound, 5-assist line was not enough to keep the Batang Pier from sliding to a 2-5 record, while San Miguel seized solo first with a 6-1 slate.

The Beermen can formally punch their ticket to the quarterfinals on Thursday, July 7, with a win against the playoff-bound TNT Tropang Giga at 7:15 pm.

Meanwhile, NorthPort will again shoot for a much-needed win on Saturday, July 9, 7:15 pm, against the young Converge FiberXers.