PBA NEWS | Beermen have won their last two matches, moving them up to equal seventh position
October 27, 2022GAME OKBET ( BEERMEN ) : San Miguel Beer continued where it left off in its last game and defeated NorthPort 104-86 in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo on Wednesday night, despite missing Marcio Lassiter and Chris Ross, who joined June Mar Fajardo in sickbay.
Beermen guard Devon Scott got to work right away, and his team took an early lead that they held onto for the rest of the game and ultimately used to beat NLEX again, 124-116.
Having won two in a row, the Beermen are now tied for seventh position with the NLEX Road Warriors.
In the meanwhile, the Batang Pier dropped from a tie for seventh to a tie for ninth with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters and the Blackwater Elite, all three teams having a record of 3-4.
San Miguel coach Leo Austria said, “This game is very essential for us and this victory is so vital because everybody’s battling hard for the Top Four.” “One win is a huge boost to your confidence and one loss can be disastrous to your rankings,” he said.
“We’re battling for our playoff bid, and we can’t afford to lose to NorthPort,” said Austria, whose men stood up and overcome the absences of Lassiter (health protocols) and Ross (knee) in addition to Fajardo and Terrence Romeo.
Scott, playing in just his third game for the local pro league, seized control early on.
In the first canto, he scored 13 of his 25 points, and his side eventually went on to win by a wide margin.
“Given that we’ll be playing without our top shooter and we anticipated NorthPort’s zone defense, we’re a little nervous about the game. However, we saw that our guys can and will perform when the time comes, “added Austria, noting small forward Rob Herndon’s 11-point performance.
CJ Perez (15 points), Simon Enciso (14 points), and Jericho Cruz (14 points) each had double-digit scoring games, while Scott had a double-double of his own with 16 rebounds, six assists, and four turnovers.
Prince Ibeh led the Batang Pier with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while rookie big Will Navarro contributed 14 points and two three-pointers.
A rough night for Robert Bolick continued, as he shot only 4-of-13 for 10 points. (SB)
The Result:
Scott 25, Perez 15, Enciso 14, Cruz 14, Herndon 11, Tautuaa 9, Manuel 6, Zamar 6, Brondial 2, Canete 2, Faundo 0, for a total of 104 for San Miguel.
Ibeh (16), Navarro (14), Bolick (10), Balanza (8), Ayaay (8), Tolentino (6), Chan (6), Salado (5), Santos (5), Caperal (3), Calma (2), Taha (0), and Vigil (0) scored 86 points for NorthPort.
The scores were 26-16, 47-32, 78-61, and 104-86 after each quarter.
