Photo credit: PBA Media Bureau
The No.2 seed San Miguel Beermen defeated the No. 3 seed Barangay Ginebra, 106-96 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Best-of-5 semifinals series of the 2023-24 PBA Commissioner's Cup on Friday, January 26, 2024, at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. [VIDEO]
The Beermen opened the game with a 10-0 run and ended the first quarter with just a 2-point lead, 23-21. The GinKings outscored San Miguel, 25-20, in the second quarter to regain the lead, 46-43 at the half. However, the Beermen used a strong 33-28 run to regain the lead from the GinKings at the end of the third quarter, 76-74. SMB ended the final quarter with a 30-22 surge, outscoring the GinKings and securing a back-to-back victories.
Bennie Boatwright Jr. led all scorers with 38 points (13/25FG, 6/11 3pts), 9 rebounds, and 2 assists. Marcio Lassiter scored 16 points, hitting 4-of-7 shots from beyond the arc, and contributed 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. June Mar Fajardo was a formidable presence in the paint with 17 points, 14 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals, and 6 blocks while CJ Perez added 17 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 2 assists, 3 steals, and blocked a shot.
In a losing effort, Jamie Malonzo displayed hot shooting, going 6-of-8 from the three-point line, to finish with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, and a block. Meanwhile, Tony Bishop scored 25 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, 1 assist and a steal. Standhardinger was a point shy of a double-double, finishing with 9 points, 14 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Semis Game 3 is on Sunday, January 28 at the Mall of Asia Arena at 6:30pm.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 106 - Boatwright 38, Fajardo 17, Perez 17, Lassiter 16, Teng 7, Trollano 5, Cruz 4, Tautuaa 2, Ross 0, Enciso 0, Brondial 0.
GINEBRA 96 - Malonzo 27, Bishop 25, Ahanmisi 13, Thompson 9, Standhardinger 9, Pringle 6, Pinto 5, J Aguilar 2, Tenorio 0.
Quarters: 23-21, 43-46, 76-74, 106-96. [GAME STATS] | [GAME HIGHLIGHTS] | [JORDAN]
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