Manila, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen had an achievement of winning back-to-back games in a series against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in Game 5 last night, July 4.
Both teams are eager to take the lead in Game 5 as the series progresses to avoid the pressure of being eliminated.
Barangay Ginebra had a double digit lead to overwhelm the San Miguel Beermen in the first half.
Jericho Cruz stepped up and was the Beermen’s hero as he sparked the morality of his team.
With his confidence and determination, he was able to do such things that a coach wants to a player: good ball movement, scoring, getting his teammates involved, and the most important part, defense.
The “Apex Predator” C.J. Perez also stepped up as the Beermen’s top scorer — having 31 points.
The team’s bench players also stepped up on defense, as they had multiple defensive stops, boxing out, and good basketball overall against Barangay Ginebra.
The match-up is intense — considering the Gin Kings won’t back down until the end.
Late in the fourth quarter became “C.J. Perez Takeover”, — as he hit crucial buckets at the last minute of the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
He was the Top Scorer of the Game, while Jericho Cruz was the Best Player of the Game.
Jun Mar Fajardo, Perez’s co-star, tallied 14 points, and 12 rebounds.
Maverick Ahanmisi, who produced 19 points, is not enough for the Gin Kings to obtain victory.
The final score of the game — 103 – 92.
San Miguel is looking forward to eliminating Barangay Ginebra as they will meet again on July 6 at Smart Araneta Coliseum for game six.
Meanwhile, the Rain or Shine ElastoPainters refused to be eliminated against TNT Tropang 5G as they won last night, July 4.
Gian Mamuyac had a major game of 22 points, which made him the Best Player of the Game.
Jhonard Clarito, Adrian Nocum, Keith Datu, and Andrei Caracut managed to help the team’s victory as well.
They had 19, 11, 11, 11 points.
On TNT, Calvin Oftana struggled as his co-starters were nowhere to be found, leaving him for 23 points.
Their bench players including Simon Enciso, Glenn Khobuntin, and Kim Aurin had their contributions of 20, 13, 13 points.
The final score of the game — 113 – 97.
The TNT Tropang 5G still leads the series at 3 – 2.
The two will meet again this Sunday, July 6 at Araneta Coliseum. —Kyle Basa, Contributor