Beermen dismantle Bossing for second straight win

San Miguel registered their second straight victory at the expense of the hapless Blackwater, 107-88 on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

CJ Perez, the young guard SMB acquired before the season, led the Beermen with 21 points, five rebounds and four assists while Marcio Lassiter put up 18 points and Vic Manuel finished with 16 off the bench.

Terrence Romeo produced 13 points while newcomer Simon Enciso had his best game with San Miguel so far with 13 points as well.

The locals’ offensive stint against the Bossing eased the load off SMB import Brandon Brown who tallied 12 points with 14 rebounds, five assists and four steals.

As the Beermen bagged their back-to-back wins, the Bossing, meanwhile, absorbed their fourth defeat of the conference and extended their infamous league-record losing streak to 23 straight games dating back to the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble.

San Miguel coach Leo Austria had nothing in mind but to be consistent in the coming games as they came off a 0-2 start in the Governor’s Cup.

“Naging motivation sa team yung first two losses namin. We couldn’ afford to lose another two consecutive games or else we’ll be at the bottom,” said the 63-year old mentor.

“It’s a good thing the players responded. They realized the importance of our next two games. At the same time, we didn’t want to be the victim of our opponent Blackwater as they try to end their (losing) streak,” he added.

Lassiter put up 13 points in the first canto that saw Beermen open the battle with an early 22-6 lead while six-foot-four forward Manuel rallied with 12 markers in the second frame that catapulted to their wire-to-wire victory.

Blackwater’s Paul Desiderio and newly-acquired guard Rashawn McCarthy paced the loss with 16 and 14 points respectively. Import Jaylen Bond hauled down 9 with 17 rebounds while Barkley Ebona added 11.

The Bossing waged the battle without Jvee Casio, Josh Torralba, Baser Amer and Kelly Nabong due to injuries.

The scores:

San Miguel 107 – Perez 21, Lassiter 18, Manuel 16, Romeo 13, Enciso 13, Brown 12, Fajardo 7, Pessumal 4, Zamar 3, Gotladera 0, Comboy 0, Tautuaa 0, Sena 0.

Blackwater 88 – Desiderio 16, McCarthy 14, Ebona 11, Baloria 10, Bond 9, Escoto 8, Chauca 7, Washington 6, McAloney 5, Daquioag 2, Paras 0.

Quarterscores: 35-22, 64-44, 80-66, 107-88.