San Miguel trips Ginebra in Game 5, nears PBA PH Cup Finals

Sports

ONE more win and the San Miguel Beermen will be playing in the Finals of the 49th PBA Philippine Cup.

The Beermen broke the trend in their current semifinal series with the Barangay Ginebra Kings after posting a 103-92 win in Game 5 on Friday night, July 4, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Following up their 107-82 win in Game 4, the Beermen became the first team to win back-to-back in the series after they alternated wins in the first four games.

As a result, San Miguel moved up, 3-2, earning two chances to advance to the championship round.

CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz starred in San Miguel’s critical win.

Perez recorded his highest scoring game in the playoffs by scattering 31 points while Cruz fired a season-high 27 points anchored on a 3-of-4 clip from the three-point area.

June Mar Fajardo added 14 points and 12 rebounds. Don Trollano scored just 11 points but he keyed the Beermen’s decisive run in the fourth quarter where he unloaded nine of his total output.

With Mav Ahanmisi leading with 19 points, Ginebra actually had a balanced attack but failed to sustain a hot start that saw them build leads of as many as 12 points in the opening period.

THE SCORES:

SAN MIGUEL (103) - Perez 31, Cruz 27, Fajardo 14, Trollano 11, Tiongson 6, Teng 4, Tautuaa 3, Lassiter 3, Brondial 2, Rosales 2, Ross 0.

GINEBRA (92) - Ahanmisi 19, Thompson 14, Malonzo 13, J.Aguilar 12, Rosario 11, Holt 10, David 7, Abarrientos 6, R.Aguilar 0, Gray 0.QUARTERSCORES: 12-20, 49-44, 74-71, 103-92.(CCM)