San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during a PBA Philippine Cup game against Converge FiberXers. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines — What could’ve been a smooth-sailing final stretch in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round turned into a pressure-filled situation for San Miguel Beer after a stinging loss on Wednesday night.
The Beermen fell to Converge, 100-97, at Ninoy Aquino Stadium, and suddenly, their final game against NorthPort has major implications.
READ: PBA: Converge stuns San Miguel to stay within bonus range
“We need that next game because if we lose, we’re going to get stuck in the middle of the standings,” said reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo. “We really need to win that last game.”
San Miguel had a chance to secure a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs but couldn’t get past a hard-fighting Converge squad, which dealt the perennial contenders their third loss of the conference.
Fajardo did his part with a massive double-double of 17 points and 23 rebounds, but the FiberXers’ collective effort, led by Schonny Winston, Justine Baltazar, and Justin Arana, proved too much.
“It’s not just because of those two (Baltazar and Arana). It was also because of Winston,” Fajardo said. “Their team effort and ball movement were just really nice.”
To add more intrigue to Sunday’s matchup, NorthPort stunned top-seeded NLEX just hours before the Beermen’s defeat, giving the Batang Pier some momentum heading into the game at Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
As of posting, San Miguel holds a 7-3 record.
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