By Adrian Stewart Co

San Miguel Beermen took down TNT KaTropa, 96-86, in Game 3 of their 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal series last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

June Mar Fajardo led the way with a double-double on 32 points and 14 rebounds, while Christian Standhardinger added 17 markers for the Beermen.

The Beermen jumped to a 17-3 start behind inside conversions from Fajardo and Standhardinger. Their lead grew further to 25-10 at the end of the period with hits from Terrence Romeo and Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser.

KaTropa attempted to come close in the second period as it trimmed the deficit to 28-14 but the Beermen were relentless as baskets from Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos increased their advantage to 53-27 at the half.

TNT opened the second half with three-point hits but San Miguel responded with Fajardo and Romeo, resulting in their largest lead of the game, 85-59, on an inside basket by Fajardo.

The Beermen next face the Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters in a best-of-seven semifinal series./ASC, WDJ