The San Miguel Beermen successfully clinched a twice-to-beat ticket in the Oppo PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs after trouncing the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 112-101, on Friday at SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen improved to 9-2 to end the elimination round, assuring them of a top-two finish. Their final standing will depend on the result of the match between Mahindra and Ginebra on the same night.
The loss meanwhile denied GlobalPort, which slid to 4-7, an outright quarterfinal spot. The Batang Pier will now have to figure in a knockout match on Sunday against either Alaska or Phoenix to keep their campaign alive.
Charles Rhodes led the Beermen with 34 points and five boards while Chris Ross collected 17 points, six boards and seven dimes.
June Mar Fajardo scored 15 points and eight boards off the bench. Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter each dropped 13 points as Alex Cabagnot tallied a double-double of 13 points and 10 assists.
San Miguel pulled away early after a 12-0 start, but the Batang Pier came back and prevented the Beermen from pushing their lead further.
GlobalPort launched a 10-0 run late in the second quarter, and scored five unanswered points to tie the game at 51-all at the start of the third period.
San Miguel however remained poised and regained control of the game. The Beermen took the fight out of the Batang Pier in the fourth frame where an 11-2 blast gave them a 90-77 edge which they maintained for the remainder of the game.
Justin Harper made 25 points and 12 boards while Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle each scored 21 points for the Batang Pier in the losing effort.