By Adrian Stewart Co
San Miguel Beermen (SMB) rode on the dominance of June Mar Fajardo in the endgame to score a 96-91 victory over Meralco Bolts in Game 3 of the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals on Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Clinging to a five-point lead midway in the final quarter, the Beermen leaned on inside baskets by Fajardo and a timely triple from Marcio Lassiter for its biggest lead at 83-73.
The Bolts, however, rallied back and came to as close as 84-88 but four straight points by Fajardo followed by free throws by Jaymar Perez sealed the victory for the Beermen.
Fajardo finished the game with double-double 21 points and 16 rebounds to go with two blocks as the Beermen took a 2-1 advantage in the best-of-seven semifinals series.
Perez led the way for the Beermen with 26 points, with 13 coming in the opening quarter, while Ilonggo Jericho Cruz and Vic Manuel chipped in 15 and 11 markers, respectively.
Chris Newsome tallied 16 points to banner the scoring for the Bolts, Allein Maliksi and Aaron Black added 15 markers apiece, while Clifford Hodge had double-double 12 points and 13 rebounds.
In the first game, Jayson Castro drilled a go-ahead triple as TNT Tropang Giga escaped with a 93-92 win over Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots in Game 3 and take a 2-1 lead in the semis.
With the score tied at 90-all, the Hotshots momentarily took the lead at 92-90 on a converted layup by Andy Mark Barroca with seven seconds remaining.
The Tropang Giga, however, quickly responded with a three-pointer from Castro to take the lead at 93-92 before sealing the win via a missed halfcourt attempt by Magnolia’s Paul Lee.
Castro finished the game with 16 points, John Paul Erram led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Glenn Khobuntin and Mikey Williams added 15 markers apiece for TNT.
BOX SCORE:
SAN MIGUEL 96 – Perez 26, Fajardo 21, Cruz 15, Manuel 11, Ross 8, Tautuaa 8, Brondial 4, Lassiter 3, Enciso 0, Herndon 0.
MERALCO 91 – Newsome 16, Maliksi 15, Black 15, Hodge 12, Jose 9, Banchero 8, Quinto 4, Almazan 4, Pascual 4, Pasaol 2, Baclao 2.
Quarterscores: 25-24, 46-42, 71-66, 96-91/ASC, WDJ