Beermen beat up Fuel Masters

The San Miguel Beermen crushed the Phoenix Fuel Masters, 111-92, to get back into the win column of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup yesterday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Don Trollano came up big for the Beermen with 21 points and five rebounds off the bench as he was named the Best Player of the Game.

After a scoreless performance against the Grand Slam-seeking TNT Tropang 5G, 84-89, last 4 May at the Ynares Center, Trollano knew they had to shape up to stay within the top four of the standings.

“We need to step up. The mindset is just to win,” Trollano said.

“We can’t afford to lose back-to-back games because we will go down in the standings.”

A layup from Trollano with 4:26 left in the second quarter capped a 22-8 run for San Miguel and turned a slim 30-29 lead in the first quarter into a 52-37 blowout.

Trollano also gave the Beermen their biggest lead of the game, 89-65, after sinking two free throws with 10:53 left in the fourth quarter.

San Miguel bullied its way to the basket with 60 points inside the shaded area.

CJ Perez led San Miguel with 26 points while reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo dropped a double-double game of 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Kai Ballungay led Phoenix with 23 points as they absorbed their fourth loss in six games.

The scores:

SAN MIGUEL (111) — Perez 26, Trollano 21, Fajardo 20, Lassiter 11, Brondial 8, Tautuaa 7, Teng 6, Cruz 5, Ross 4, Calma 3, Teng 2, Cahilig 0, Rosales 0, Tiongson 0.

PHOENIX (92) — Ballungay 23, Tuffin 16, Perkins 15, Tio 8, Daves 8, Manganti 5, Rivero 5, Camacho 4, Verano 4, Jazul 3, Garcia 1, Alejandro 0, Cullar 0, Soyud 0, Ular 0.

QUARTERS: 30-29, 64-50, 85-63, 111-92.