San Miguel def Blackwater, 124-109 [PBA S48 PH Cup | May 1, 2024]

San Miguel continued its dominance as they secured a convincing 124-109 victory over Blackwater at the PhilSports Arena on Wednesday.

This win officially eliminated Blackwater from the PBA Season 48 Philippine Cup playoff race.

Despite already clinching the top seed and a twice-to-beat advantage in the upcoming quarterfinals, the Beermen showed no signs of slowing down.

CJ Perez, June Mar Fajardo, and Don Trollano led the charge, contributing to their flawless 10-0 record.

Blackwater’s loss marked their seventh consecutive defeat, tying them with Phoenix Super LPG at 3-7. The upcoming match between the two eliminated teams on Saturday will be purely for pride.

Coach Jorge Gallent credited his team’s ability to learn from their mistakes, bringing them closer to potentially sweeping the elimination round – a feat achieved by only four teams in PBA history.

“We were making turnovers, we gave Blackwater opportunities to make transition points, so we just have to minimize our turnovers and minimize our forced shots for us not to give up easy transition points,” said Gallent.

Perez continued his impressive scoring streak with 26 points, setting a record for scoring 25+ points in six consecutive games. Fajardo added 21 points and 16 rebounds, helping the Beermen secure a comfortable lead throughout the game.

Trollano’s explosive performance in the fourth quarter sealed the victory for SMB, extending their winning streak to a franchise-best 12 games dating back to the last Commissioner’s Cup finals.

The night was made even more special with a halftime ceremony honoring Arwind Santos, as his jersey number 29 was retired in recognition of his contributions to the franchise’s nine titles.