By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
The San Miguel Beermen booked a second-straight semifinal ticket of the year after sweeping the Converge FiberXers,120-107, in the ongoing PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs last December 10, 2022, held at the Philsports Arena.
San Miguel’s huge 2-0 win over the FiberXers in the quarterfinals will put them in a highly-anticipated showdown with the no. 1 team and the foreign guest squad Bay Area Dragons in the semifinals on December 14, 2022.
Just like their first encounter, the Beermen quickly went off to the races and dominated Converge on both ends of the floor.
San Miguel already established a 12-point lead after 12 minutes of action, 27-15, courtesy of a waxing-hot three-point shooting by the Beermen snipers.
Aljun Melecio tried to keep Converge within striking distance after erupting for a personal 7-0 run in just two minutes but returning star Terrence Romeo answered with a more massive scoring clinic that swelled San Miguel’s lead to as much as 19 points heading into the second half.
From a 10-point lead with seven minutes left in the second quarter, Romeo went unconscious from the rainbow country and drilled three-straight treys that ballooned San Miguel’s lead by 17 points, 45-28.
It was the same story in the second half as the Beermen stepped on the gas pedal and further added more damage after the trio of June Mar Fajardo, Devon Scott, and CJ Perez tortured the Converge defenders in the paint.
San Miguel already led by 25 points, 100-75, at the start of the final canto but a stunning offensive snowball by Converge import Quincy Miller trimmed the lead to just a single digit, 109-101.
However, the Beermen responded with a much-needed three-point basket from Simon Enciso that put San Miguel in a commanding position once again with three minutes left in the game.
It was also an unfortunate following sequence for the FiberXers after failing to score in the next two minutes, seeing the Beermen pull away with the series win.
Romeo delivered one of his best performances since returning from a back injury and contributed 22 points off the bench.
PBA’s only six-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Fajardo continued his steady presence in the shaded lane and ended up with another double-double performance of 18 points and 18 rebounds while Scott chipped in 20 points and 14 boards.
On the other hand, the Beermen spoiled Jeron Teng’s 25-point performance to go along with 10 rebounds while Miller added 24 points for the FiberXers.
