LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen rallied from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat Tropang TNT, 104-98, and get the top seed in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup playoffs on Friday, April 15, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Led by the 36 points and 15 rebounds of import Tyler Wilkerson, San Miguel finished the elimination round with an 8-3 record and will face the Star Hotshots with a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinal round.
Tropang TNT, which played without Jayson Castro (stomach flu), fell to 6-5 and will face the Alaska Aces in a best-of-3 series.
June Mar Fajardo, who had the game-clinching put back, finished with 18 points and 7 boards while Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter scored 10 points each.
Rookie Troy Rosario scored 14 points for Tropang TNT while David Simon had 32 points and 16 rebounds.
Scores:
San Miguel (104): Wilkerson 36, Fajardo 18, Cabagnot 10, Lassiter 10, Ross 10, De Ocampo 7, Santos 7, Arana 4, Semerad 2, Espinas 0, Lutz 0, Tubid 0
Tropang TNT (98): Simon 32, Rosario 14, Tautuaa 10, Williams 10, De Ocampo 9, Ababou 6, Rosser 6, Reyes J. 4, Reyes R. 3, Carey 2, Fonacier 2
Quarter scores: 19-20, 43-45, 68-72, 104-98– Rappler.com