Beermen end elimination round on winning note

San Miguel completed the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Governors’ Cup with a 13-point whipping of import-less Rain or Shine, 129-116, Friday at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

Vic Manuel stepped up in the absence of June Mar Fajardo and scattered 23 points in 25 minutes of action. The 9th overall pick of the 2012 draft added 4 rebounds, an assist and a steal to his tally.

The Beermen finished the preliminary phase of the season-ending conference with a 9-2 win-loss record while the Elasto Painters capped off their disappointing campaign with a 2-9 card.

“We just have to play good defense. We can’t rely on our offense, we can’t win. Our main goal is to work on our defense and let it trigger our offense. If we play bad defense our offense will suffer. We really have to work hard for 48 minutes in order to make it far in the playoffs,” said SMB head coach Jorge Gallent during the post-game presser.

“We just relaxed again on defense. The usual thing, we were up by 13 and then we relaxed again. They had a lot of open three-point shots that weren’t contested. In the first half we didn’t have pride in our individual defense but in the second half it became a bit better. Nothing great, but it became better,” he added.

Mo Tautuaa also scored 23 to go with 12 boards while Marcio Lassiter, Cameron Clark and CJ Perez added 20 markers apiece. Jericho Cruz contributed 12 points.

The Beermen, who ended up as the 2nd seed after TNT won over Brgy. Ginebra in the main event, will take on Converge in the quarterfinals armed with a twice-to-beat advantage. The two sides are set to clash on Sunday, March 19, 4:30pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

The scores:

San Miguel 129 – Manuel 23, Tautuaa 23, Lassiter 20, Clark 20, Perez 20, Cruz 12, Bulanadi 5, Herndon 3, Enciso 2, Faundo 1, Brodnial 0, Canete 0, Ross 0.

Rain or Shine 116 – Mamuyac 23, Borboran 15, Belga 12, Torres 12, Demusis 12, Namabatac 9, Asistio 7, Nieto 7, Ildefonso 7, Nieto 7, Santillan 6, Yap 4, Caracut 2, Clarito 0, Ponferrada 0.

Quarterscores: 36-23, 62-56, 100-91, 129-116.