San Miguel Beer showcased its fearsome championship roster in the final day of the elimination round of the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner's Cup yesterday at the Philsports in Pasig.
Immediately, the Beermen displayed their deadly form as they dumped Meralco, 113-108, to wrap their elimination round campaign with a four-game winning run.
Terrence Romeo returned after an absence of almost nine months and reaffirmed his role as one of the team's potent weapons.
Romeo finished with 12 points in just 16 minutes of play as San Miguel slowly tried to break him back into the groove of things.
"His stamina was kinda OK, but we don't want to push his minutes," said San Miguel Beer assistant coach George Gallent on Romeo's return to action.
"This is just his first game in nine months, so you just let him get the feel of the game in time for the playoffs."
The rest of the Beermen, who wound up with a 7-5 win-loss card, buckled down to work and by halftime, they were already armed with a 70-50 spread against the also-ran Bolts.
Devon Scott played his most productive game, tallying 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the field while also pulling down 13 rebounds and a steal.
Marcio Lassiter added 13 points, including a steady 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the arc. The 6-foot-3 Fil-Am swing man achieved a milestone as he moved up to seventh on the all-time list in the PBA for the most number of three-point shots made (1,088).
San Miguel's last game of the elimination round wasn't also the best time to roll out the carpet for the return of Romero, a three-time scoring champion and former Finals Most Valuable Player.
It also served as a fitting workout for the defending champions, who are gearing up for the best-of-three playoff series against fourth seed Converge.
The Beermen dominated the Bolts for the most part of the match, although Meralco was able to make a last-ditch stand by outsourcing San Miguel in the fourth period, 35-19.
"The attention to details for the three quarters we played is what will help us carry through in our next game," said Scott during the post-game interview.
Meralco showed up decimated as key players Chris Newsome, Raymond Almazan and Chris Banchero were sidelined by separate injuries.
The PBA Commissioner's Cup begins the playoffs phase on Sunday.
The scores:
San Miguel (113) – Scott 32, Lassiter 13, Romeo 12, Cruz 10, Perez 10, Fajardo 9, Enciso 8, Manuel 7, Tautuaa 6, Brondial 4, Zamar 2, Ross 0, Herndon 0.
Meralco (108) – McDaniels 27, Black 21, Jose 16, Quinto 15, Caram 9, Maliksi 7, Pasaol 4, Belo 4, Hugnatan 3, Hodge 2, Pascual 0, Baclao 0, Johnson 0.
Quarterscores: 28-21, 70-50, 94-73, 113-108.
