SAN MIGUEL BEATS NLEX, MOVES TWO WINS AWAY FROM ELIMS SWEEP

SAN Miguel moved two wins away from a rare elimination round sweep, beating NLEX, 120-103, in the PBA 48th Season Philippine Cup at the Philsports Arena on Sunday.

CJ Perez had 30 points and nine rebounds, June Mar Fajardo had 20 points and 21 rebounds, and the Beermen also clinched the No. 1 spot and the twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

The Beermen improved their unbeaten record to 9-0, needing to beat Blackwater on Wednesday and Meralco on Saturday to achieve the feat last achieved in the 2014 Commissioner’s Cup when Talk ‘N Text finished the eliminations with a similar mark.

No team has swept the eliminations in a 12-team PBA field.

NLEX missed the services of Robert Bolick after the birth of his baby boy, as the Road Warriors fell to 5-4 and are now in a tie for third place with TNT and Magnolia.

San Miguel only trailed for two minutes and 19 seconds in the game after NLEX scored the first three points.

"If we play the same way we’ve been playing for the first nine games, it wouldn’t be a bother for me or us. As long as we play hard for 48 minutes and know our roles, we will be okay," said San Miguel coach Jorge Gallent.

Jericho Cruz and Terrence Romeo had 15 points apiece while Marcio Lassiter and Don Trollano had 14 each for San Miguel.

Enoch Valdez added 18 points and eight rebounds, while Jhan Nermal had 16 points for NLEX, which will look to break its three-game losing mark when it faces Rain or Shine on Friday at the Philsports Arena.

The scores:

San Miguel 120 – Perez 30, Fajardo 20, Romeo 15, Cruz 15, Lassiter 14, Trollano 14, Enciso 6, Brondial 4, Teng 2, Tautuaa 0, Ross 0.

NLEX 103 – Valdez 18, Nermal 16, Nieto 14, Anthony 12, Herndon 11, Semerad 9, Rodger 8, Miranda 7, Fajardo 4, Amer 2, Taha 2.

Quarters: 25-15; 50-41; 83-71; 120-103.

2024-04-28T14:19:00Z dg43tfdfdgfd