Cameron Krutwig came up huge with the first triple-double of the conference but it was Baser Amer and Mike Ayonayon who delivered the clutch baskets towards the end as Blackwater claimed a huge scalp in San Miguel Beer, 109-106, in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
Krutwig dropped 20 points, 18 rebounds and 10 assists while also anchoring a huge 18-4 start in the fourth quarter to erase a double-digit deficit before Mike Ayonayon and Baser Amer delivered the killing blows in the waning minutes to help the Bossing end an 8-0 record of futility against the Beermen.
Trailing by four, 103-99, with a little over five minutes left in the contest, Ayonayon scored five straight points, built on a triple and a layup and sandwiching a basket from SMB import Diamond Stone to shove Blackwater within one, 105-104.
Perez split his charities, giving the Beermen a two-point cushion before Amer drilled a booming right wing triple plus the foul to reclaim the lead. He had the chance to ice the game with the bonus free throw but missed it.
Ayonayon though perfectly anticipated Perez's kick out pass to Stone, completing the huge steal which he converted to a layup on the other end, practically sealing the deal for Blackwater.
“Di pa kami sanay na kami yung lamang kasi yung nakikita ko yung dalawang victory namin come-from-behind din pati sa Phoenix come-from-behind so it’s a learning (experience) pero sabi ko nga sa huddle this is the best time to beat San Miguel kasi there’s still struggling pa yung import,” said Vanguardia as the Bossing battled back from 15 points down in the second half.
“Maganda lang yung bench talagang nag step up it just want to give props to Mike Ayonayon. He didn’t play the last game but he’s just ready so Mike Ayonayon, even Yousef (Taha) was there and Barkley (Ebona) gave us the energy,” he added.
Amer provided support to Krutwig with 16 points while Troy Rosario and Taha added 13 and 11 points, respectively. Ayonayon and Gab Banal also gave the Bossing huge lift off the bench with 10 points apiece.
Replacement import Stone didn’t exactly shine bright for San Miguel Beer, shooting just 7-of-17 from the field although he still finished with 20 points and eight rebounds.
June Mar Fajardo and Marcio Lassiter, though, carried the scoring cudgels for the Beermen with the former posting 23 points and 16 rebounds while the latter contributing 18 points built on five triples. All of their effort, however, went down the drain as the Beermen got outscored by the Bossing 32-17 in the final frame paving the way for the tough opening game loss.