Stone drops 42 as San Miguel takes down Rain or Shine

Diamond Stone bounced back strong after a forgettable first game and dropped 42 points to power San Miguel over Rain or Shine, 113-105, Sunday in the elimination round of the PBA Season 47 Commissioner’s Cup at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

The 25-year old, one-time member of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers shot 17-of-29 from the field including 4-of-12 from beyond the arc and also tallied 13 rebounds and 3 assists in close to 43 minutes of action as the Beermen rebounded from a shock loss to Blackwater for their first win of the conference.

“I feel like I’ve adjusted well,” said Stone who was named as Best Player of the Game. “Coach did a great job during this week, after the first game, of getting me adjusted, getting me to know the plays. I feel like just me being in practice and engaging with the guys.”

June Mar Fajardo led the local charge with 21 points while CJ Perez recovered from slow start and finished with 13.

“Our first game was a lackluster game for us,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria during the post-game presser. “It was very evident naman na we’re just playing the game. Maybe because they were dwelling a lot on our championship.”

“I told them before the start that the championship is already a thing of the past. We have to fight back, we have to have another start come gametime.”

Steve Taylor Jr. paced the Elasto Painters with a near-triple double performance of 20 points, 18 rebounds and 9 assists while Rey Nambatac and Leonard Santillan added 19 and 15 markers, respectively. Gian Mamuyac scored 13 while the duo of Andrei Caracut and Anton Asistio chipped in 11 points apiece.

The Beermen will have a one-week break before going for back-to-back wins when they take on the Bay Area Dragons on Sunday, October 16, 6:45pm at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The scores:

San Miguel 113 – Stone 42, Fajardo 21, Perez 13, Herndon 8, Cruz 7, Manuel 7, Enciso 6, Lassiter 6, Ross 3, Tautuaa 0.

Rain or Shine 105 – Taylor Jr. 20, Nambatac 19, Santillan 15, Mamuyac 13, Caracut 11, Asistio 11, Ponferrada 10, Belga 3, Demusis 3, Norwood 0, Borboran 0.

Quarterscores: 29-24, 61-59, 85-85, 113-105.