Bay Area proved to be too much for a San Miguel side missing the services of six-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, scoring a 113-87 drubbing of the Philippine Cup champion to get back on the winning track in the 2022 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Sunday, Oct. 16.
The Dragons bounced back from their first taste of defeat against Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings last week and preyed on the Beermen who struggled to put the clamps on the fire breathing PBA guest team.
Andrew Nicholson rebounded from his losing debut, this time making sure that he had enough gas all throughout the game to finish with 39 points – 25 of which came in the first two quarters when Bay Area started to tear the game apart. He also feasted inside the paint with 12 rebounds, two steals and a block.
Hayden Blankley provided support with 17 points while Kobey Lam and Songwei Zhu chipped in 16 apiece as the Dragons led by as many as 30 points in the rout to pick up their fifth win in six games.
The Beermen were actually the first one to throw their punches, taking an early 8-2 lead in the opening frame but that proved to be the lone bright spot in SMB’s game as Bay Area unleashed a 7-0 finishing kick to build a double-digit spread at the end of first quarter and seize control for the rest of the game.
A blistering third quarter assault then completely took the fight out of the Beermen as the Dragons built the largest lead 86-56 after a Blankley triple.
After exploding for 42 last time out for SMB, Diamond Stone just couldn’t hit his shots, mustering 11 points and 12 rebounds on a measly 5-of-18 shooting from the field, including a horrendous 0-of-7 clip from beyond the arc.
CJ Perez paced the Beermen with 19 points but had to take 14 shots to reach his output while Vic Manuel had 15 points off the bench to try and make up for the 22 points average lost by the Beermen in Fajardo's absence. The 6-foot-10 underwent surgery to repair a laryngeal fracture he sustained in SMB's win over Rain or Shine last week.