By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The San Miguel Beermen handed the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel its worst loss since entering the PBA, blowing them out by 49 points, 131-82, in the ongoing Governor’s Cup on September 15, 2024, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
What everyone expected to become a slugfest turned into a lopsided affair in favor of the Beermen as the powerhouse squad won all four quarters en route to its biggest win in the import-laced conference this season.
As early as the opening salvo, San Miguel already caught fire in their offense, out-scoring the Gin Kings, 37-13, backstopped by a red-hot Marcio Lassiter who already sank four three-pointers.
The San Miguel offensive showcase didn’t end in the first quarter, as they continued to pummel the Gin Kings in the following frame, increasing their advantage to 35 points at the end of the half.
Troubled and worried, Ginebra experimented with some lineup combinations in hopes of catching San Miguel off guard but their small-ball five had no answers.
The Gin Kings had their best-scoring period in the third as they dropped 27 points but the Beermen still found a way to edge them, capping off the final minute with a demoralizing barrage that built a 40-point lead.
With the game getting out of hand for Ginebra, head coach Tim Cone decided to wave the white flag early in the fourth and fielded his bench mob to preserve his starters for their next game.
For the San Miguel side, all smiles were on their bench as everybody just contributed to their most dominant win of the year.
June Mar Fajardo bullied Ginebra with another masterpiece performance of 24 points and 17 rebounds while CJ Perez shot an efficient 22-point outing.
Lassiter, the man who was responsible for San Miguel’s flawless scoring clinic in the first quarter, contributed 18 points built from six drained three-pointers.
San Miguel’s reinforcement Jordan Adams didn’t need to load up huge numbers for his squad to get the win after finishing with 12 points and 11 boards.
