Meralco vs San Miguel

San Miguel moves within a win of the PBA Philippine Cup finals after fending off Meralco's comeback efforts.

Meralco led 44-41 at halftime as Allein Maliksi drained 3 treys in the second period, but it got outscored 26-12 in the third frame, with Perez and Cruz outscoring the Bolts on their own with 18 points combined in the period. Limited to a two-point outing in their Game 4 loss, Cruz poured in 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals off the bench, including 9 points in their big third quarter that saw San Miguel mount a 67-56 advantage. Jericho Cruz turned in his best offensive game of the semifinals and keyed their second-half breakaway as the Beermen built a lead big enough to stave off the Bolts’ comeback and clinch a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven tiff.

San Miguel staved off Meralco, 89-78, to move a step closer to the 2022 PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Friday night at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.

We were not in a hurry,” the champion mentor added. And we were able to control it. Meralco, on the other hand, leaned on the 24 points of Chris Newsome in the loss. They know what to do,” said Austria. “Nagkakaroon sila ng communication. They connected to each other. Jericho Cruz and Rodney Brondial were on the forefront of the Beermen’s second half surge on the way to the 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven affair, which has put them in a position to close it out in Game Six on Sunday.

San Miguel Beer got solid contributions from its supporting cast to repel Meralco, 89-78, and move on cusp of a possible return trip to the PBA Finals in ...

SMB padded the lead further early in the final frame to its largest at 71-56. SMB then followed it up with another 8-2 finishing kick to end the third with an 11 point cushion, 67-56. It was a game that saw a fiery exchange of runs between the two teams with Meralco unloading the first rally with a 13-0 blast courtesy of three straight treys from Allein Maliksi as the Bolts took a 44-41 lead at the break.

San Miguel Beermen are now one win away from returning to the PBA Philippine Cup finals for the first time in three years.

"Meralco is a tough team, and we don't know yet what will happen. I hope next game we realize that it is the most important game this conference. This is a situation that we can't let go." "Every time we lost to Meralco, we didn't have a good start in the first quarter and also the third quarter. Our bigs weren't able to make the same plays they made last game. "And that's something we discussed before. "So we really have to find a better way of getting them over and getting them free for shots. "I think that's when they gained control of the game, in the third quarter," Black said. "We were up at halftime. I addressed it to the team that the third quarter is crucial. They took us out of our offense." "We're the leading team in fast-breaks.

San Miguel Beer seized a 3-2 lead in the PBA Philippine Cup semis via an 89-78 win over Meralco in Game 5.

"Actually, di ko naman iniisip umiskor. Para sa akin, pinakapangit na laro ko yun," said Cruz, who only scored 2 in their defeat. "Di ako pinatulog nung laro ko last time.

A third-quarter turnaround instigated by Jericho Cruz and CJ Perez allowed the Beermen to regain control of the match after trailing 44-41 at the break.

Perez finished with a team-high 25 points and added nine rebounds and five assists while Cruz had 17 points and sparked a 13-0 run that gave San Miguel a 59-50 cushion after trailing by four early in the third period. Cruz and Perez had nine each during that stretch before Rodney Brondial came through in the stretch to preserve the win after the Bolts made a late game rally. A third-quarter turnaround instigated by Jericho Cruz and CJ Perez allowed the Beermen to regain control of the match after trailing 44-41 at the break.