By ADRIAN STEWART CO
San Miguel Beermen bucked the absence of June Mar Fajardo to score a 120-106 win over NLEX Road Warriors in the 2022-2023 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City on Wednesday night, March 15.
Cameron Clark tallied a conference-high 45 points to go with 17 rebounds and three assists, Jaymar Perez added 23 markers while Ilonggo Jericho Cruz and Allyn Bulanadi had 16 and 14 markers, respectively, for the Beermen.
The Beermen were hardly affected by the absence of Fajardo, who is out for six weeks due to an MCL injury, as they surged to a 61-47 lead that later grew to its largest at 21 points in the third quarter.
However, the Road Warriors stormed right back as they cut the deficit to 104-109, but a three-pointer by Simon Enciso and inside connections from Perez and Clark increased the Beermen’s lead to 16 points.
With the victory, the Beermen hiked their record to 8-2 and solidified a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals round. They can still go up to as high as no. 1 depending on the outcome of today’s matches.
The Beermen are set to close out their elimination round campaign against import-less Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 3:00 p.m., while TNT Tropang Giga (9-1) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings (8-2) will tangle at 5:45 p.m.
On the other hand, the Road Warriors finished the elimination round with a 7-4 win-loss slate and dropped to seventh place where they will have a twice-to-win disadvantage over the no. 3 ranked team.
While the defeat was painful for the Road Warriors, it gave their sister team, Meralco Bolts, the fourth and last twice-to-beat advantage in the round-of-eight against the no. 5 ranked squad, Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots.
Wayne Selden, Jr. tallied 32 points to lead the way for the Road Warriors, Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser added a career-high 29 points and 15 rebounds, while Celedonio Trollano had 14 markers.
SAN MIGUEL 120 — Clark 45, Perez 23, Cruz 16, Bulanadi 14, Lassiter 8, Enciso 8, Tautuaa 2, Manuel 0, Ross 0, Brondial 0, Romeo 0.
NLEX 106 — Selden 33, Ganuelas-Rosser 29, Trollano 14, Anthony 8, Semerad 6, Miranda 5, Rosales 5, Alas 5, Nieto 2.
Quarterscores: 28-19, 61-47, 88-75, 120-106./ASC, WDJ