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| Renaldo Balkman and the rest of the San Miguel Beermen came out big the second half en route to its first win. (PBA Media Bureau) |
By Ricky Manliguis
QUEZON CITY—San Miguel finally notched
a win in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, using a torrid second-half display to foil
Phoenix Petroleum, 106-94, in the main game of Wednesday action at the Big
Dome.
With Renaldo Balkman issuing a
double-double and Christian Standhardinger leading the local crew, the
defending champions buked a so-so start to snap a 0-3 slump in the mid-season
conference.
Trailing 49-37 at the half, the
Beermen buckled up on both ends in the second, outscoring the Fuel Masters
35-21 for a 72-70 lead heading into the final canto.
And with the scores knotted at 88-all,
the Beermen then unloaded a 15-1 run on an Arwind Santos dunk for 103-86 with
46 seconds left.
Balkman came out with a game-high 35
points and 17 rebounds on 14-of-22 shooting from the field. The Puerto Rican
also dished out four assists, four blocks, and two steals.
Standhardinger came up with 18 points,
while Alex Cabagnot and Arwind Santos both issued 13 markers. June Mar Fajardo,
recovering from a slight fever, grabbed 13 points and nine markers.
Coach Leo Austria admitted during
post-game that the Beermen have yet to find the chemistry.
"Talagang
makikita niyo naman na talagang we're not yet in the game that we had during
the semifinals or playoffs of the All-Filipino. And we're trying our best na as
soon as possible, makuha namin ang chemistry namin," Austria said.
"Good
thing the players off the bench, Alex (Cabagnot), Arwind and Christian
Standhardinger played well and they stepped up. Slowly nakukuha na namin ang
right combination para sa team namin."
Eugene Phelps had 33 points and 17
rebounds for Phoenix, which dropped to an even 3-3 card. Matthew Wright added
17 markers while RJ Jazul was the other double-figure scorer with 10.
San Miguel gears up for its mammoth
match-up with sister team Barangay Ginebra (1-3) on Sunday at the Mall Of Asia
Arena.
The scores:
San Miguel 106 – Balkman 35, Standhardinger
18, Cabagnot 13, Santos 13, Lassiter 12, Fajardo 9, Ross 6, Ganuelas-Rosser 0,
Lanete 0, Heruela 0.
Phoenix 94 – Phelps 33, Wright 17, Jazul 10,
Perkins 8, Chua 8, Kramer 6, Wilson 6, Chan 4, Mendoza 2, Intal 0, Revilla 0.
Quarterscores: 17-18; 37-49; 72-70; 106-94.
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