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Junemar Fajardo throws down a jam in San Miguel's smooth sailing victory over Phoenix to go 2-0.
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By Patrick Sutare
PASAY--San Miguel continues to prove it can defy any championship hangover or what not after chalking up its second straight win to start the PBA Commisioner's Cup.
The three-time reigning Philippine Cup Champions followed up its first game victory over Meralco with a blowout beating of Phoenix, 110-88, Friday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
After figuring in a see-saw battle in the first quarter, the Beermen turned up the notch right at the onset of the second frame.
The powerhouse SMB squad unfurled a 15-2 blitz to turn a 24-23 precarious lead after one to a 39-25 commanding advantage with just barely three minutes having taken away from the game clock in the period. They ended the half ahead by 15, 55-40, and never relinquished it since then.
In the third canto, the Beermen unleashed one more weapon off their bag of tricks.
Banking on their hard-nosed type of defense, SMB punished Phoenix with transition attacks, most of which came off outlet passes after forcing a turnover.
The advantage then ballooned to 22 after the third quarter, 84-62, before they finally wrapped up the final quarter on a foray of outside shots from their resident snipers.
Six players scored in double figures for San Miguel, led by Junemar Fajardo who accounted for 22 markers on top of his eight rebounds.
The Beermen stay unbeaten in the tourney with a 2-0 record along with Star and Alaska who both have 4-0 cards,
After going off for 27 points in the Fuel Masters' win over Ginebra last Saturday, rookie Marthew Wright came out empty handed in this game after not making any of his 13 shots.
Import Jameel McKay tallied 21 points and 16 boards to lead Phoenix which fell to below .500 with a 2-3 slate.
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