San Miguel took solo lead in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup after stopping NLEX, 100-92, on Friday at Ynares Center in Antipolo.
The Beermen contained the Road Warriors after letting them explode in the first period, where the latter raced to a 33-25 lead.
SMB slowly crippled NLEX in the next 36 minutes, outscoring them the rest of the way, 75-59, to eventually prevail.
SMB coach Leo Austria admitted that his team underestimated the opponents so he reminded his players to turn to defense for the remainder of the match.
"The last time I watched them against Terrafirma, I thought we can beat them because they scored 31 points in the first half, but earlier, they scored 53 points in the first half. That's why I told the team that we have to step up on our defense," Austria said after the game.
CJ Perez led the 2-0 Beermen with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals, while Marcio Lassiter added 18 points, three rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Don Trollano had 21 points and five boards for the Road Warriors, who fell to 1-1.
The scores:
San Miguel 100 - Perez 19, Lassiter 18, Manuel 14, Ross 13, Cruz 10, Fajardo 9, Tautuaa 7, Brondial 6, Enciso 3, Pessumal 1, Herndon 0.
NLEX 92 - Trollano 21, Oftana 16, Chua 12, Alas 10, Quinahan 10, Semerad 6, Rosales 5, Varilla 5, Fonacier 3, Soyud 2, Ighalo 2, Miranda 0.
Quarters: 25-33, 50-53, 78-73, 100-92
Source: Philippines News Agency
