CUBAO, Philippines (Eagle News) – The San Miguel Beermen are off to a great start in their title defense after with a win over the Phoenix Fuel Masters in a high scoring game of 124-113.
The defending champions wasted no time from the let go as they barraged the Fuel Masters with three point shots to lead early in the game midway to the quarter by a score of 16-7.
The new-look Phoenix team started to retaliate with Prince Caperal scoring 7 points to keep the team in pace to only trail by four points heading to the 2nd quarter.
In the second quarter, Marcus Simmons started to let people know on his arrival in the PBA by scoring 16 points while newly acquired player, Cyrus Baguio added 9 points to lead the high scoring attack as Phoenix poured 40 points to lead at halftime, 69-64.
Coming to the third quarter, Reid came back with a 15 point outburst while Alex Cabagnot contributed 9 points as San Miguel reclaims the lead late in the third quarter and sit on a four point advantage heading to the final period.
The Beermen now turned into their championship form as their Gilas Pilipinas’ representative, June Mar Fajardo – and the league’s reigning MVP – took over the fourth quarter by scoring 8 of his 21 points to seal the victory on a high scoring game, 124-113.
Reid led the Beermen with 41 points and 10 rebounds while draining 4 three-point shots while Fajardo added 21 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. Alex Cabagnot also had 20 points to go with 3 three-point shots.
The Fuel Masters had Simmons with an impressive PBA debut with 28 points and 11 rebounds. Newly acquired players by Phoneix played a huge role in keeping the game close with Rookie Norbert Torres with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3/3 in the three-point arc while Cyrus Baguio had an all-around game 13 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds to go with a block and a steal.
The San Miguel Beermen will try to go 2-0 against the NLEX Road Warriors on Friday, July 22 while the Phoenix Fule Masters will try to bounce back against the Rain or Shine Elastopainters on Saturday, July 23. Both games will be played at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 124 – Reid 41, Fajardo 21, Cabagnot 20, Lassiter 12, Heruela 8, David 7, Tubid 5, Ross 4, Reyes 4, Arana 2, Semerad 0.
PHOENIX 113 – Simmons 28, Torres 19, Baguio 13, Cruz 13, Enciso 12, Hee 9, J. Wilson 7, Caperal 7, Pennisi 3, Buenafe 2, Lanete 0.
Quarters: 33-29, 64-69, 97-93, 124-113
Photo Credit: Peter Baltazar / Sports On Air / Eagle News