San Miguel Beermen wasted no time in securing a semifinal seat as they nipped the Converge FiberXers, 121-105, in the quarterfinal round of the 47th PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday night, March 19, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Armed with a twice-to-beat advantage, the Beermen broke away from a tight contest in the third quarter that saw them unleashing a back-breaking 10-0 to turn a 70-all standoff into an 80-70 lead.
The second-seeded Beermen would later end the third with a 94-82 lead and never looked back.
The FiberXers, ranked number seven in the quarters, simply lost steam after fighting back from early double-digit deficits and even took the lead in the early part of the second period.
Converge was just within 57-58 at the start of the third before San Miguel came up with the decisive run.
Cameron Clark exploded for 40 points to lead the Beermen, while CJ Perez and Vic Manuel added 26 and 20, respectively.
Jericho Cruz was the third San Miguel local to end up in double figures with 12 points.
Tom Vodanovich had a strong showing in his PBA debut and led the FiberXers with 39 points.
Vodanovich was brought in to replace Jamaal Franklin, who was given the pink slip after his controversial four-point showing in Converge’s 101-120 loss to the Barangay Ginebra Kings last March 5.
THE SCORES:
SAN MIGUEL (121) – Clark 40, Perez 26, Manuel 20, Cruz 12, Tautuaa 8, Lassiter 7, Enciso 6, Ross 2, Brondial 0, Bulanadi 0.
CONVERGE (105) – Vodanovich 39, Ahanmisi 18, Arana 14, Stockton 12, Melecio 11, Teng 7, Balanza 4, Murrell 0, Tratter 0, Ebona 0, Tolomia 0, Racal 0.
QUARTERS: 34-27, 57-58, 94-82, 121-105.
