San Miguel bounces back, routs Phoenix to clinch QF spot

The San Miguel Beermen formally booked a quarterfinal spot in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup after mounting a huge third quarter to rout the skidding Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, 110-80, Friday at the DHVSU Gym in Bacolor, Pampanga.

The Beermen will now join TNT, Magnolia, Meralco, and Rain or Shine as the first five teams to advance to the playoff round.

CJ Perez starred for SMB after producing 24 points, five rebounds, and four assists while three other Beermen listed double-digit markers as they improved to 6-3.

Jason Perkins paced the Fuel Masters with team-high 18 markers and nine boards while RR Garcia and Matthew Wright added 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Phoenix will now drop to 4-7 after the lopsided loss.

"The trust of the coaches and my teammates really pushed me to just play my game," said Perez in the post-game interview.

The Beermen, who missed last year's All-Filipino championship round after dominating it for five-straight years, were only looking at an eight-point lead going into halftime, 55-47.

They, however, stepped on the gas in the third in a game where a playoff ticket was at stake.

They opened the penultimate quarter with a quick 12-2 run before RR Garcia launched a corner three, 67-52. Perez then converted six points as part of another 18-7 barrage as they closed out the frame leading 85-59.

A rare three-pointer from Mo Tautuaa brought Beermen's lead to its biggest, 107-70, with only four minutes left to play in the payoff period.

The victory also allowed SMB to bounce back from a previous loss to Rain or Shine last Sunday.

"I told the players that we have to bounce back and you can really say that we did bounce back tonight," said SMB head coach Leo Austria.

"But I didn't expect that they would play like this tonight. The rest of the crew really played well tonight because they know the importance of the game."

Phoenix, on the other hand, is not yet eliminated from playoff contention but is now in a tough position in the team standings.

The scores:

San Miguel (110) - Perez 24, Tautuaa 19, Fajardo 18, Santos 16, Ross 9, Lassiter 8, Pessumal 5, Zamar 5, Romeo 3, Sena 3, Gotladera 0, Comboy 0, Gamalinda 0.

Phoenix Super LPG (80) - Perkins 18, Banchero 13, Muyang 12, Garcia 11, Wright 10, Manuel 8, Chua 6, Jazul 2, Calisaan 0, Pascual 0, Tamsi 0, Demusis 0, Rios 0.

Quarterscores: 24-21, 55-47, 85-59, 110-80

—JMB, GMA News